The Elephant's Tusks: India Announces New Defense Budget
Defense Innovation Board report; AUKUS Navy Chiefs; Quad Meeting; US-Japan-South Korea
Hub Story: New Indian Defense Budget
Spoke Story: US Defense Innovation Board Releases Report on Innovation Cooperation with Allies and Partners
Spoke Story: AUKUS Naval Chiefs Meet for First Time in Australia
Spoke Story: Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Tokyo
Spoke Story: US Expands Cooperation with Japan and South Korea
Hub Story: India Announces New Defense Spending
This week, the Indian government budget for FY 2024-2025 was announced, which allocated approximately $75 billion to the Ministry of Defence, nearly the same as the interim budget presented earlier this year. This allocation reflects an increase compared to FY 2023-2024, which was $71 billion.
Indian defense spending has been rising in recent years, especially after the India-China border clashes in 2020. However, as a share of GDP, Indian defense spending has largely flatlined, if not trending down.
However, India is looking to garner more bang for their buck. New Delhi is investing heavily in modernizing its military. In 2020, the Ministry of Defence announced 20 modernization reforms meant to (1) improve defense preparedness, (2) revitalize defense acquisition policy and procurement procedures, and (3) develop a defense industrial ecosystem. The 20 reforms are actually more than just 20 individual acts. It’s better to understand it as 20 buckets of reform, with each bucket containing several actions.
Indian Ministry of Defence: 20 Reforms in 2020:
India appoints its first Chief of Defence Staff
Improved civil-military integration — Department of Military Affairs created
Investing in domestic defense industrial base
Digital transformation
Modernizing and accelerating defense acquisition and procurement
Transforming and simplifying trial and testing period for acquisition process
Connecting and integrating border security
Adding firepower to the Indian Air Force arsenal
Supporting women in the armed forces
Reforming defense R&D — creating five new government labs
Reforms in defense land management
Digital and organizational reforms in base administration
New welfare programs for personnel
Expanding locations for India’s National Cadets Corps for youth
Increasing defense diplomacy
Strengthening strategic thinking through private and government institutions
New offset policy
Canteen stores department reforms
increasing defense exports
Leveraging medical capabilities
Ladhu R. Choudhary of the Stimson Center has a good assessment of India’s military reforms. He concludes that the reforms are not being properly resourced and implemented.
Stimson Center: India’s Military Modernization Efforts Under Prime Minister Modi:
The Modi government’s military modernization initiatives had a suboptimal impact on the Indian military’s effectiveness. The inadequate allocation of resources for meaningful transformation, poor political oversight to manage the turfs between various stakeholders, and lack of effective laws to govern the initiated reforms are cumulatively stymying the transformation towards intended goals.
Yet, one bright spot might be the Modi government's prioritization of expanding India's defense industrial base, with a particular focus on the national security innovation base. In 2018, the Ministry of Defence announced two initiatives to support innovation startups and smaller enterprises to produce for the armed forces. The Department of Defence Production supports these programs.
Innovations For Defence Excellence (iDEX):
iDEX aims at creation of an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging Industries including MSMEs, start-ups, individual innovators, R&D institutes & academia.
And provide them grants/funding and other support to carry out R&D which has good potential for future adoption for Indian defence and aerospace needs.
iDEX will be funded and managed by a ‘Defence Innovation Organization (DIO)’ which has been formed as a ‘not for profit’ company as per Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013 for this purpose, by the two founder members i.e. Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) - HAL & BEL. iDEX will function as the executive arm of DIO, carrying out all the required activities while DIO will provide high level policy guidance to iDEX.
Soon after launching iDEX, India announced DISC.
Defence India Start Up Challenge (DISC):
Taking the iDEX initiative further, Defence India Startup Challenge "has been launched by Ministry in partnership with Atal Innovation Mission, aimed at supporting Startups/MSMEs/Innovators to create prototypes and/or commercialize products/solutions in the area of National Defence and Security. The vision of the Challenge is two-fold:
Help create functional prototypes of products/technologies relevant for national security (prototyping), and spur fast-moving innovation in the India defencesector;
Help new tech products/technologies find a market and early customer (commercialization) in the form of the Indian Defence Establishment.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Defence announced a new program under iDEX. iDEX has received increased funding since its establishment in 2018, and the government established Acing Development of Innovative Technologies’ with iDEX (ADITI) to help fulfill its mission.
IDSA: Empowering Indigenous Defence Innovation: The ADITI Scheme and DefConnect 2024:
Critical and strategic technologies will increasingly drive innovation and modernisation efforts of the Indian Armed Forces to bolster combat potential and capacity building. The ADITI Scheme aims to foster the development of critical and advanced technologies essential for national security, filling gaps where existing capabilities are lacking. Stakeholder interactions, including with the Armed Forces, start-ups, MSMEs, and academic incubators, underscored the need for increased funding for projects concerning critical and strategic technologies…
The scheme offers grants of up to 50 per cent of the Product Development Budget (PDB) with a maximum limit of Rs 25 crore, potentially leading to a PDB of Rs 50 crore or more… The project consists of 6 milestones, with a payment limit of Rs 9 lakh per case, amounting to Rs 1,50,000 for each milestone, allocated for Partner Incubator (PIs) upon completion of each milestone by the respective challenge winner.
India’s push to better incorporate its private tech sector with its defense needs is a challenge that Washington is struggling with as well. The US-India relationship has strived to help facilitate each other’s innovation base through a White House initiative called Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (CET). National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan recently traveled to India to meet with the recently re-elected Modi and pursue progress on iCET. Below is the defense-relevant portion of the joint statement.
Deepening Defense Innovation and Industrial Cooperation:
Welcoming the discussions on India’s planned acquisition of the MQ-9B platforms, the possible co-production of land warfare systems, and progress on other co-production initiatives outlined in the U.S.-India Roadmap for Defense Industrial Cooperation;
Celebrating the second edition of the India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) Summit which took place in February this year and during which the two sides announced an INDUS-X Investor Summit that will take place in Silicon Valley in September 2024; the awarding of up to $1.2 million in seed funding to 10 U.S. and Indian companies under Joint IMPACT 1.0 Challenges; the intent to launch two challenges focused on space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) under IMPACT 2.0; and the launch of an INDUSWERX Testing Consortium steered by industry, academia and non-profit organizations across the United States and India to promote access to testing and certification facilities;
Deepening cooperation between the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit and India’s Innovations for Defense Excellence (iDEX) to accelerate the joint adoption of cutting-edge commercial technologies for military solutions and capability enhancement of both defense ecosystems, including through a Memorandum of Understanding;
Noting progress in negotiations between GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the co-production of GE F414-INS6 engines to power India’s future fighter fleet;
Expanding defense industrial partnerships, such as the launch of an AI Multi-Doman Situational Awareness product jointly developed by General Atomics and 114ai to support joint all domain command and control.
I breakdown iCET and India’s semiconductor push more in this Hub-and-Spokes post.
One of India’s great strengths is its innovation base. If New Delhi can efficiently reform acquisition and procurement processes and properly resource its modernization initiatives, then that could mean great potential not only for Indian armed forces but for US-India collaboration. US-India cooperation will always be more limited than US-Japan or US-NATO collaboration, but — as of right now — a stronger and more modern Indian armed forces is in US interests.
Spoke Story: US Defense Innovation Board Releases Report on Innovation Cooperation with Allies and Partners
The US Defense Innovation Board (DIB) is an advisory committee that provides recommendations and innovative solutions to the Department of Defense to enhance its technological and operational capabilities. Comprised of experts from various fields, the board focuses on integrating cutting-edge technology and practices to maintain the military's competitive edge.
This month, the DIB released its report, "Optimizing Innovation Cooperation with Allies and Partners." It's worth reading in full, but one key theme I want to highlight is the report's criticism of DoD's rhetoric on innovation cooperation versus its actual actions to facilitate that cooperation.
Defense Innovation Board: Optimizing Innovation Cooperation with Allies and Partners:
There is a significant gap within the DoD between rhetoric and action regarding co-development, co-production, and co-sustainment, particularly outside of the Five Eyes and NATO allies. Longstanding regulatory and compliance frameworks, such as International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), remain primary blockers to collaboration.
Addressing key barriers to collaboration requires significant, sustained, and well-aligned U.S. federal interagency coordination, particularly between the DoD, Department of State, and Department of Commerce.
One of the report’s major criticisms is that the 2018 reorganization of USD(AT&L) into USD(A&S) and USD(R&E) left the international cooperation portfolio disjointed and lacking a single, empowered office to work on international industrial cooperation. The report is structured around its recommendation for establishing a new undersecretary to handle international industrial cooperation.
Defense Innovation Board: Optimizing Innovation Cooperation with Allies and Partners:
1. Establish a new Undersecretary of Defense for International Industrial Cooperation, or USD(IIC). This position would designate a senior political executive as the primary point of contact at the DoD and the principal staff assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary for all matters pertaining to international defense industrial cooperation. The USD(IIC) would address the common complaint among allies and partners that the DoD and federal interagency lack the necessary capacity, transparency, and harmonization for effective international industrial base cooperation.
2. Under the new USD(IIC), there should be two Assistant Secretaries of Defense for Combined Requirements Development (CRD) and International Integration and Interoperability (II&I). The ASD(CRD) would be responsible for enhancing collaboration with allies and partners during the initial stages of requirements development. This function would create improved pathfinders for bringing allies and partners into the requirements development process, identify requirements and shared investments across the partner community, and oversee initial investments to progress projects from concept to production at scale. The ASD(II&I), meanwhile, would be responsible for managing classification guidelines for allies and partners, harmonizing technical standards, capabilities, and policies, and ensuring interoperability of communications protocols and networks.
3. The USD(IIC) would work closely with OSD Policy and Comptroller to align international defense industrial cooperation goals to the force development priorities of the Secretary as defined in the annual Defense Planning Guidance (DPG) and Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) processes.
4. The USD(IIC) would incorporate and elevate the international defense industrial base portfolio of OSD A&S, presently overseen by a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Development and International Engagement. The USD(A&S) will retain its oversight of all domestic defense industrial base policy as the U.S. National Armaments Director – and attend all annual conferences of national armaments directors in that capacity – but otherwise relegate authority for international defense industrial cooperation to the USD(IIC). This will allow A&S to focus on its primary mission of maintaining U.S. defense industrial base resilience.
5. The USD(IIC) would adopt the international outreach and policy portfolio of OSD R&E, with primary oversight of implementation of the DoD's international science and technology (S&T) engagement efforts. While the USD(R&E) should remain closely involved in the DoD's international technology scanning efforts, given that role's function as the Department's Chief Technology Officer, actual implementation of taskings and deliverables regarding international S&T cooperation should be reassigned to the new USD(IIC). This would allow R&E to devote its full resources toward ensuring the continuous advancement of technology and innovation within the DoD enterprise.
6. Other OSD entities that engage on aspects of international defense industrial cooperation should be nested with the priorities dictated by the USD(IIC). For example, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) conducts international engagement with its counterpart DIUs in allied and partner nations, and the Chief Digital and AI Officer (CDAO) engages in international consultations on data and AI-related issues.
Actually, incorporating this recommendation would be a bureaucratic headache, and I rarely think adding more offices and bureaucracies is the right answer to problems. However, allied industrial cooperation is such a critical issue that it might warrant a new office solely devoted to fixing this challenge. The report is accurate in that there is a large degree of separation between the many DoD strategies that appropriately identify the priorities and challenges with international industrial cooperation and the actual implementation of that rhetoric. As DoD takes on more ambitious cooperation projects like Defense Industrial Cooperation, Acquisition, and Sustainment (DICAS) with Japan or INDUS-X with India, DoD will need an office solely committed to pursuing these initiatives. It’s becoming clear that the current bureaucratic structure is not accelerating this cooperation as much as it should be.
Spoke Story: AUKUS Naval Chiefs Meet for First Time
Australia’s Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Mark Hammond hosted his AUKUS counterparts, the US Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, and the UK First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Ben Key this past week.
US Navy: AUKUS Navy Chiefs Strengthen Ties During First Trilateral Visit to HMAS Stirling:
The U.S. Navy’s Chief of Naval Operations, Franchetti said, “AUKUS is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring together the exceptional capabilities of Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. We will continue to build on our relationship, strengths, and interoperability, while at the same time uplifting the industrial bases of our three countries. We will bring to bear the innovative spirit of our three nations while significantly bolstering our posture in the Indo-Pacific, contributing to security and stability, and maintaining the rules-based international order in this critical region and around the globe.”
They also signed a Statement of Intent for Lethality, which documents the three navies' collective commitment to the enhanced lethality of their surface combatant and submarine fleets.
The three Heads of Navy also spoke on two panels at the Indian Ocean Defense and Security Conference where they discussed AUKUS and Security in the Indian Ocean and Naval Cooperation and Security in the Indo-Pacific.
After her visit to Australia, Franchetti went to the Philippines.
US Navy: CNO Visits Indo-Pacific for Second Time, Strengthens Regional Ties:
“The U.S. commitment to the Philippines is ironclad and our Maritime Cooperative Activities are a testament to the strength and importance of our relationship,” said Franchetti. “I look forward to building on the success of exercises Balikatan and Sama Sama to increase our interoperability and accelerate our capability to support our shared interests in this critical region.”
Spoke Story: Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Tokyo
The Quad held a foreign ministers meeting in Tokyo this week. This year has been pretty quiet for the Quad. During the last year of the Trump Administration and the first couple of years of the Biden Administration, the Quad was Washington's primary tool for security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Now, it seems that policymakers in Washington are more focused on the US-ROK-Japan Trilateral and AUKUS as the primary security cooperation tools.
While the Trilat and AUKUS continue progressing, the Quad has drifted into the background. If a leaders summit is held this year, it will be in late 2024—after the election. The 2024 Malabar naval exercise was only recently announced; it will take place on India's eastern seaboard. The White House has tried to push the Quad away from its security origins and more toward a governance institution, focusing on disaster relief and humanitarian aid. And the White House has been largely successful in pushing the Quad toward focusing solely on governance issues rather than being a security dialogue. The joint statement from the Foreign Ministers' Meeting reflects that.
US State Department: Joint Statement from the Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Tokyo:
Through the Quad, we are supporting the region through practical cooperation on challenges such as maritime security, critical and emerging technologies, cyber security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, health security, climate change, counterterrorism, infrastructure and connectivity, and addressing the debt crisis through sustainable, transparent and fair lending and financing practices…
We are committed to responding to the vulnerabilities caused by natural hazards in the Indo-Pacific by coordinating disaster response operations and demonstrate this through our support for partner government and community-led responses to disasters in the region… We welcome the finalization of the Quad Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which enable an effective, immediate and coordinated response mechanism between Quad partners. We look forward to further strengthening our coordination to provide practical support for regional partners in times of disasters. The next annual meeting and tabletop exercise will be held in Japan, which will continue to enhance Quad HADR cooperation and collaboration.
Spoke Story: US Expands Cooperation with Japan and South Korea
The big news from this past week is that the US Forces Japan will be reconstituted into a Joint Force Headquarters, reporting to the commander of US INDOPACOM back in Hawaii. There has been a lot of push for this in the past year, and Washington and Tokyo have been working hard to coordinate it.
Modernize Alliance Roles, Missions, and Capabilities
The United States and Japan decided to upgrade the core tenets of the Alliance to reflect their historic level of bilateral interoperability and to meet challenges posed to their shared vision and common values.
The Ministers announced a historic decision to modernize U.S. and Japanese command and control (C2) frameworks, including the reconstitution of U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) to a Joint Force Headquarters, which will complement Japan's establishment of the JSDF Joint Operations Command (JJOC).
The JJOC will increase Japan's joint operations capability and facilitate greater interoperability with U.S. forces.
The decision to reconstitute USFJ to expand its missions and operational responsibilities will be the most significant change to USFJ since its creation – and one of the strongest improvements to the Alliance's military cooperation in seventy years.
The United States and Japan also announced progress on Forum on Defense Industry Cooperation, Acquisition, and Sustainment (DICAS). However, it will still be some time until we see the fruits of DICAS.
Expand Defense Industry Cooperation
The United States and Japan further accelerated work on co-production, co-development, and co-sustainment to advance innovation, strengthen their industrial bases, promote resilient and reliable supply chains, and invest in the strategic industries of the future.
The Ministers heralded the recent convening of the Forum on Defense Industry Cooperation, Acquisition, and Sustainment (DICAS), as well as its working groups on missile co-production, ship repair, aircraft repair, and supply chain resilience.
The Ministers welcomed high-priority efforts to pursue mutually beneficial co-production opportunities to expand production capacity of Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) and Patriot PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE), in order to meet critical demands for such advanced systems, address timely procurement and readiness requirements, and deter aggression.
The Ministers supported Japan's revision of its Three Principles on the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology and its Implementation Guidelines, which supports efforts to leverage both countries' respective industrial bases to meet the demand for critical capabilities.
The US and ROK also met in Tokyo to reaffirm mutual commitment.
US Department of Defense: Joint Press Release for the ROK-U.S. Defense Ministerial Meeting:
The Minister and the Secretary welcomed the tremendous progress in the first year of the Nuclear Consultative Group, as evidenced by the signing of the 'ROK-U.S. Guidelines for Nuclear Deterrence and Nuclear Operations on the Korean Peninsula' (hereinafter, Guidelines). Two leaders reaffirmed that as both President Biden and President Yoon stated, the Guidelines provide a solid foundation for enhancing U.S.-ROK extended deterrence cooperation in an integrated manner. Secretary Austin and Minister Shin noted that the Guidelines further strengthen the practical posture and capability of the Alliance to deter and respond to advancing DPRK's nuclear and missile threats. Based on the Guidelines, the Minister and the Secretary noted the importance of implementing the key tasks of the NCG. In addition, the Secretary reaffirmed that the U.S. commitment to extended deterrence to the ROK is backed by the full range of U.S. capabilities including nuclear, conventional, missile defense, and advanced non-nuclear capabilities.
There were a ton of US meetings this past week in the Indo-Pacific. Here are some of the more important press releases:
US Department of Defense: Joint Statement of the Security Consultative Committee ("2+2")
US Department of Defense: Joint Press Release for the ROK-U.S. Defense Ministerial Meeting
US Department of State: Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Lao PDR Foreign Minister Saleumxay
Worth Your Time
Australia:
ABC News: Submarine Boss Predicts AUKUS Project Will be Slow, Expensive and Suffer Setbacks
Breaking Defense: Aussie Defense Industry Minister says Ghost Bat Could Carry Lethal Loads
ABC News: Australian Navy Tests New Naval Strike Missile in US-Hosted Military Exercises
Japan:
The Diplomat: JGSDF Plans to Build a Missile Firing Range on Japan’s Easternmost Island
Nikkei Asia: China Protests Japan-Taiwan Joint Coast Guard Drill
The Philippines:
South Korea:
Pacific Islands: