Trump offers 2 squadrons of F-35s for IAF

US President Donald Trump is reported to have offered to provide up to 2 squadrons of the F-35 stealth fighters to India, a development that would help India bridge the stealth air power gap with neighbours China and Pakistan.

While it is not known how many of the stealth aircraft the United States is willing to sell to India, an IAF squadron generally consists of 16-18 aircraft, depending on the type of operation and model of the aircraft.

Also, as Trump put it, the F35 offer is part of a larger package of arms and other military equipment that President Trump wants India to agree to. “Starting this year, we will be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars. We are also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F35, Stealth fighters,” Trump said.

Besides, Trump said, India will also buy more oil and gas from the US, as part of an agreement to reduce the trade gap between the two countries.

Trump made the announcement during Prime Minister Modi’s first visit to the US under the second Trump administration. Modi is also the fourth head of state to be invited to the White House after President Donald Trump assumed office for a second term.

The US offer of F-35 must be seen in the backdrop of a more generous Russian offer of supplying India with its Su-57 stealth fighters and also assisting India in its indigenous AMCA programme.

The US is offering Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, which is a single-seat, single-engine, all-weather, stealth multi role combat aircraft. With electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, the aircraft offers air superiority in strike missions. 

While Trump has been critical of India’s tariff polices all the while. But he seems to have softened stand at Thursday’s meeting,, Both leaders have agreed to find a negotiated settlement to long-standing disputes while pursuing a “framework” for greater cooperation.

The new “framework” also includes collaborations on space travel, international security and energy sourcing to increase trade between the two nations.

Modi, on his part, praised Trump for his `Make America Great Again’ (MAGA) slogan saying it reflected the President’s commitment to the nation, which he also pursues with great dedication to `Make India Great Again’ (MIGA).

The two countries have set a target of taking bilateral trade to $500bn by 2030, Modi said after closed door talks with Trump.

Total trade between India and the United States stood at an estimated $129.2 billion last year, with India having a current surplus of $45.7 billion. Trump wants to bridge the gap with more imports of US goods and services.

"Starting this year, we will be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars.The two leaders heaped praise on one another, while publicly sidestepping more prickly points of discussion.

Chief among them was the question of Trump’s newly announced “reciprocal tariffs”, in which he proposes to answer foreign import taxes on US goods with rates equal to what each country imposes.

Trump has long criticised India for its high tariff rate on foreign goods, even reportedly calling Modi the “king of tariffs”.