Aircraft carrier deal
NEW DELHI: India and the United States are making progress in talks on the joint development of an aircraft carrier for India, the top US navy admiral said on Wednesday, potentially the biggest military collaboration between them. The two countries agreed to work together on aircraft carrier technology as well as jet engines during US President Barack Obama’s visit to India last year in a tightening of ties to balance China’s expanding military power in the region. The visiting chief of US Naval Operations, John Richardson, said the two sides had held talks on a range of issues relating to the next generation Indian carrier from its design to construction. A high-level US-India joint working group is due to meet in New Delhi later this month, part of a series of meetings aimed at establishing broader cooperation on the design, development and production of the proposed Indian carrier. “We are making very good progress.”