US-India deal: Conclusion of BECA to open doors for high-tech arms

Becoming a BECA signatory will take India into a select group of long-range missile powers, which can strike targets thousands of kilometres away with an accuracy of 100 metres or less

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his US counterpart, Secretary for Defense Mark Esper, met in New Delhi today in the lead-up to the “US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue” on Tuesday. Joining them for the dialogue tomorrow will be Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

“The two ministers reviewed bilateral defence cooperation spanning military-to-military cooperation, secure communication systems and information sharing, defence trade and industrial issues,” announced the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The MoD also confirmed the conclusion of the last remaining “defence foundational agreement” — the so-called Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for Geospatial Intelligence.

“The two ministers expressed