India’s Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar was in Washington on August 30 to sign the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA). This agreement provides for each country to use the other globally for supplies, spare parts, services and refueling. Effectively, U.S. armed forces can operate out of Indian bases, and vice versa, on a simple basis. Other upcoming deals are the Communications and Information Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA), and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Intelligence (BECA).
Through LEMOA, as also through prior deals, U.S. contractors will get a much better launching pad from which to sell many billions of dollars of top-of-the-line armament to India. On the other hand, India often requires a degree of co-production domestically, so LEMOA and other deals will help India grow as a weapons dealer itself, selling to the rest of the world, reports Forbes.
