Outgoing US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter will be meeting with top Indian leadership tomorrow, but no big ticket deals are likely to be sealed during his visit.
Top Defence Ministry officials said the visit was primarily a "thanksgiving one" during which Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Carter will review the bilateral defence cooperation, which has seen a huge push in the last few years.
Carter, who will be arriving tonight, is also expected to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi later tomorrow before he leaves, MoD sources said.
Carter will also travel to Japan, Bahrain, Israel, Italy and the UK. This is for the first time that an outgoing American Defence Secretary has included India in his itinerary for the final overseas trip.
"No new decisions are likely to be taken, but there might be a forward movement in some old issues," a senior MoD official said.
India and the US could finalise provisions for the 'Major Defence Partner' status which Washington had given India during Modi's visit there in June this year.
US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated James Mattis, a retired 4-star Marine Corps general, for the post of the US Defence Secretary.
66-year-old Mattis was lauded for his leadership of Marines in the 2004 Battle of Falluja in Iraq - one of the bloodiest of the war. He also attracted controversy in 2005 when he said "it is fun to shoot some people" while addressing service members in San Diego.
Mattis's addition to the US Cabinet of national security super hawks signal the return of a more aggressive American defence policy, especially with regard to its interests abroad.
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