India, US sign path-breaking security agreement COMCASA
6th September, 2018Category: International
India and the United States have signed a path-breaking agreement COMCASA or Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement on Thursday. The agreement will allow India to get advanced encrypted military technology and hardware from the United States. COMCASA comes as a major boost for India which was designated as a ‘Major Defence Partner’ in 2016 by the US. India and the US will also hold a first-ever tri service exercise on the east coast of India in 2019.
COMCASA allows two countries to share high end encrypted communication and satellite data. Signing COMCASA allows India to acquire Sea Guardian drones, which can detect and target enemy warships.
COMCASA is one of the three foundational defence pacts that needs to be signed by a country in order to obtain high-tech military hardware from the US. Before COMCASA, India had signed only one of these agreements – Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) – in 2016. The two countries are yet to begin talks on the third agreement – Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-spatial Cooperation (BECA).
Read More: The Times of India, The Hindu, NDTV