U.S. Arms Sales to India
On Feb. 25, 2020, during a visit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, U.S. President Donald Trump announced $3 billion in arms agreements, saying they “will enhance our joint defense capabilities as our militaries continue to train and operate side by side.” The Trump administration has notified Congress of nearly $7.9 billion in potential Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to New Delhi (2017-2020), including more than $150 million for missiles and torpedoes notified to Congress in April 2020.
Some members of Congress have raised alarm about India’s actions in Kashmir and its treatment of Muslims, drawing the defense trade into the debate. For example, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) criticized sales to the country in a tweet on February 24. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tweeted on March 2, “President Trump is engaging in arms deals with Modi while his administration is ethnically cleansing the country’s religious minorities. We must not enable this rise in sectarian violence.” In 2019, Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced legislation calling on India to remove restrictions on communications in Jammu and Kashmir, and to preserve religious freedom throughout the country. (Note, on April 28, 2020, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended listing India as a country of particular concern.)
Cross-border attacks in early 2019 involving India and Pakistan using weapons provided by an array of countries, including the United States, drew international attention to the arms trade involving the long-time rivals.
Global arms supply: India, which had until recent years been listed as the world’s largest arms importer, now is second largest, accounting for 9.2 percent of global major conventional weapons imports, according to SIPRI. Russia is the country’s top supplier, providing 56 percent of arms deliveries, down from 72 percent during the earlier five-year period. Israel and France provided the second- and third-most weapons to the country in the most recent period. The United States, which was India's second-largest arms supplier in 2010–2014, delivered half as many weapons to New Delhi in 2015–2019.
Experts to contact: Brittany Benowitz, Jeff Abramson
(Inclusion on the Forum on the Arms Trade expert list does not indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of others. Institutional affiliation is indicated for identification purposes only. Please contact experts directly for further comments.)
Some members of Congress have raised alarm about India’s actions in Kashmir and its treatment of Muslims, drawing the defense trade into the debate. For example, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) criticized sales to the country in a tweet on February 24. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tweeted on March 2, “President Trump is engaging in arms deals with Modi while his administration is ethnically cleansing the country’s religious minorities. We must not enable this rise in sectarian violence.” In 2019, Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced legislation calling on India to remove restrictions on communications in Jammu and Kashmir, and to preserve religious freedom throughout the country. (Note, on April 28, 2020, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended listing India as a country of particular concern.)
Cross-border attacks in early 2019 involving India and Pakistan using weapons provided by an array of countries, including the United States, drew international attention to the arms trade involving the long-time rivals.
Global arms supply: India, which had until recent years been listed as the world’s largest arms importer, now is second largest, accounting for 9.2 percent of global major conventional weapons imports, according to SIPRI. Russia is the country’s top supplier, providing 56 percent of arms deliveries, down from 72 percent during the earlier five-year period. Israel and France provided the second- and third-most weapons to the country in the most recent period. The United States, which was India's second-largest arms supplier in 2010–2014, delivered half as many weapons to New Delhi in 2015–2019.
Experts to contact: Brittany Benowitz, Jeff Abramson
(Inclusion on the Forum on the Arms Trade expert list does not indicate agreement with or endorsement of the opinions of others. Institutional affiliation is indicated for identification purposes only. Please contact experts directly for further comments.)
Select Resources
Government
Congress
Other civil society and Forum resource pages
Select media articles
Government
- "Remarks by President Trump and Prime Minister Modi of India in Joint Press Statement" and "President Donald J. Trump Is Strengthening Our Strategic Partnership With India," White House, February 25, 2020.
- Foreign Military Sales (FMS) notifications* under the Trump administration:
- 2020 (multiple dates): February 10 - air defense systems including radar systems and hundreds of missiles, plus 32 M4A1 rifles and 40,320 M855 5.56mm cartridges ($1.867 billion); April 13 - 10 Harpoon missiles ($92 million) and 16 lightweight torpedoes ($63 million)
- 2019 (multiple dates): April 2- 24 equipped MH-60R helicopters ($2.6 billion); November 19 - 13 MK 45 5" naval guns with projectiles ($1.021 billion); C-17 support ($670 million); February 6- 2 large aircraft self-protection suites ($190 million)
- 2018 (June 12): missiles, engines and other equipment supporting a direct commercial sale of 6 Apache AH-64E helicopters ($930 million)
- 2017 (multiple dates): June 26 - 1 C-17 transport aircraft ($366.2 million); May 11 - CBRN support ($75 million)
- * data on direct commercial sales (DCS) is less readily available and not indicated here, but sales via that mechanism are also substantial -- note that the 2018 FMS notification is in support of a DCS sale of 6 Apache helicopters
- Defense Security and Cooperation Agency (DSCA) India list
- "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2019," India profile, State Department, March 11, 2020.
- Annual report of The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom listing India as a country of particular concern, April 28, 2020
- World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers annual reports, State Department.
Congress
- Arms trade related
- Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) tweet on February 24
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tweet on March 2,
- Human rights- and Kashmir-related
- H.Res.745 - Urging the Republic of India to end the restrictions on communications and mass detentions in Jammu and Kashmir as swiftly as possible and preserve religious freedom for all residents. - introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) on December 6, 2019-- See press release (December 9, 2019)
- "Human Rights in South Asia: Views from the State Department and the Rgion," hearing, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation, October 22, 2019
Other civil society and Forum resource pages
- Security Assistance Monitor - Arms sales notifications, authorizations, and deliveries - India (2010-2020)
- Notification Tracker and spreadsheet - Major arms sales notifications to the U.S. Congress via the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program
- "Trends in International Arms Transfers, 2019," SIPRI, March 9, 2020
Select media articles
- "India receives harshest rating from U.S. government watchdog in religious freedom report," Michelle Boorstein, Joanna Slater and Carol Morello, Washington Post, April 28, 2020.
- "Kashmir, Under Siege and Lockdown, Faces a Mental Health Crisis," Sameer Yasir, New York Times, April 26, 2020.
- "India Lobbies to Stifle Criticism, Control Messaging in U.S. Congress Amid Rising Anti-Muslim Violence," Rashmee Kumar and Akela Lacy, The Intercept, March 16, 2020.
- "US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez On Delhi Violence: 'Modi Ethnically Cleansing Religious Minorities," Rohini Chatterji, Huffington Post, March 3, 2020.
- "More U.S.-India Arms Sales Could Follow $3.5 Billion Helicopter Deal," Sebastien Roblin, Forbes, February 26, 2020.