US announces to provide F-35 jets to India

In a bid to enhance military ties between the USA and India, President Donald Trump on Friday announced to provide supersonic F-35 fighter jets to the South Asian country.

The development comes after a meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump.

Both leader met in Washington on Thursday, where the pair discussed everything from trade to immigration, and security was high on the agenda.

“Starting this year, we’ll be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars,” Trump told a joint news conference with Modi.

“We’re also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F-35 stealth fighters,” he said.

The two countries would work together on security issues, including “the threat of radical Islamic terrorism”, he said.

Modi is only the fourth world leader to visit Trump since his inauguration.

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri later said the F-35 stealth fighter deal was a proposal at this point, with no formal process under way.

India has agreed to buy more than $20bn of US defence products since 2008.