US Approves Two Big Defence Deals for India — But There’s a Catch

The US State Department has approved two possible Foreign Military Sales to India worth a combined $428.2mn. The deals, announced through separate congressional notifications by the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs on May 18, cover follow-on support for AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and long-term sustainment support for M777A2 ultra-light howitzers. Neither is a fresh weapons purchase. Both are sustainment packages, which is an important distinction.

The larger of the two is a $230mn package for long-term sustainment of M777A2 ultra-light howitzers, with BAE Systems as the principal contractor. The second is a $198.2mn package tied to Apache helicopter sustainment, with Boeing and Lockheed Martin named as principal contractors.

India has requested ancillary items, spares, repair and return, training, technical assistance, field service representatives, and depot capability for the howitzers. For the Apache package, New Delhi has asked for engineering, technical and logistics support, technical data and publications, and personnel training. These are, essentially, packages to keep existing equipment operational and combat-ready.

Why the Apache Matters

India operates 22 AH-64E Apaches in the Indian Air Force and acquired six more for the Indian Army in a 2020 deal. The Apache is built as a tank killer — its Hellfire missiles can conduct precision strikes against armoured formations, and its Longbow radar can identify and prioritise up to 128 targets in under a minute. The IAF deployed its Apaches to Ladakh during the 2020 border standoff with China, flying night sorties.

That said, the Army's Apaches are primarily earmarked for plains and desert warfare. The Army's decision to procure the AH-64 was driven by the need to bolster offensive capabilities in trans-border strike missions, particularly in support of mechanised and armoured units of the Strike Corps. Keeping them operationally ready through a sustainment package is therefore fairly straightforward logic.

The Role of the M777A2

The M777A2 is lightweight enough to be airlifted by helicopter in mountainous terrain, including the Himalayas. It was the world's first 155mm howitzer to weigh less than 10,000 lbs, a weight reduction achieved through titanium and aluminium alloys. India operates 145 of these guns under a deal signed in 2016-17. Given how prominently the LAC features in India's military planning, keeping this fleet serviceable is not a minor administrative matter.

BAE Systems has also been working to build local supply chains. The company selected Mahindra as its business partner for an in-country assembly, integration and test facility for the M777, enabling the Indian Army to access maintenance, spares, and support locally. The new sustainment approval extends that relationship further.

Broader Context

In October 2025, the US and India signed a renewed ten-year Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership, expanding interoperability across land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace and advancing joint development and production of defence capabilities.

The Observer Research Foundation noted in April that even as trade tensions strained the broader relationship in early 2026, the defence track kept moving — exercises continued, dialogue mechanisms stayed active, and co-production and operational coordination remained on the agenda.

In the language used in both notifications, the State Department said the proposed sales would "support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to strengthen the US-Indian strategic relationship" and improve India's ability to "meet current and future threats, deter regional threats, and strengthen homeland defence."

These are sustainment deals which also signal something equally important that the operational sinew of the India-US defence relationship—the ability to actually keep shared equipment working—is being actively maintained and deepened.