India, US Sign Security Of Supply Arrangement To Strengthen Defence Partnership

The US Department of Defence and India’s Defence Ministry signed a bilateral Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA), further solidifying the defence partnership between the two nations.

This comes just before Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s US visit which coincides with several major defence deals in progress, alongside tensions surrounding the Prime Minister’s visit to Russia and the Pannun incident. A pressing issue for the Defence Ministry is the delay in General Electric (GE) delivering F404 engines for the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk1A, which has stalled the delivery of jets by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The SOSA aims to enhance national defence capabilities by ensuring reciprocal priority support for critical goods and services. It is designed to enable both countries to address unexpected supply chain disruptions by accessing each other's industrial resources. This initiative is seen as a pivotal step in bolstering the US-India Major Defence Partner relationship and advancing the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).

“This agreement marks a crucial milestone in the US-India defence partnership,” said Vic Ramdass, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Industrial Base Policy. “It will play a vital role in strengthening our cooperation in defence technology, trade and industrial development. We look forward to hosting the next DTTI meeting this fall to deepen this collaboration.”

“Under the arrangement, both countries will prioritise each other's requests for critical defence resources. The US will offer India assurances under the Defence Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS), managed by the DoD and Department of Commerce. In turn, India will establish a Code of Conduct within its industrial base, encouraging firms to prioritise support for the US in critical situations,” the US Department of Defence said in a statement.

India became the 18th nation to enter into a SOSA with the US, joining countries such as Australia, Canada, Japan, Israel and the United Kingdom. These agreements are designed to strengthen interoperability among US defence trade partners and ensure that both nations are better equipped to manage supply chain challenges during peacetime, emergencies and conflicts.

The arrangement also establishes working groups, communication mechanisms and streamlined processes to proactively address potential supply chain issues. The DoD views SOSAs as essential tools in securing industrial resources, ensuring redundancy and enhancing long-term defence collaboration.