President Trump said Thursday that the U.S. will increase its sales of military equipment to India, which could ultimately lead to the U.S. to provide the nation with the stealth jet it has long sought.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Trump did not provide more details, including the dollar amount of the increased sales.
“Starting this year, we will be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars. We are also paving the way to provide India with F-35 stealth fighters,” he said.
Ahead of Mr. Modi’s visit to the U.S., he was prepared to ask for more American military might, including F-35 stealth jets and P-81 submarine-hunting airplanes.
While P-81s are primarily used to destroy enemy submarines and warships, India has been using them to keep tabs on Chinese troops and infrastructure.
In May 2021, the Biden State Department approved the sale of $2.4 billion worth of U.S. military equipment. The price and deal expired, however, after India put a hold on the deal.
The U.S. has bagged $25 billion worth of defense deals from India since 2007.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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