‘India has tremendous capacity, highly skilled workforce’: Rubio backs deeper US-India defence production

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Saturday strongly backed deeper defence manufacturing cooperation between Washington and New Delhi, saying joint military production was “ideal” for both countries as India emerges as a major global manufacturing hub.

In an exclusive interview with CNN-News18 during his four-day India visit, Rubio said the United States was keen to expand long-term collaboration with India in the defence sector, highlighting the country’s industrial capacity, skilled workforce and growing strategic importance.

“Joint production is ideal for both countries, and that is definitely something we need to build on,” Rubio said.

“India has tremendous capacity, a highly skilled workforce, and companies are very interested in investing here. Not only the US, but multiple countries are interested in developing their defence base, and India could be a tremendous contributor to that,” he added.

More from World

Rubio’s remarks indicate growing American support for moving India-US defence ties beyond conventional arms purchases toward co-production, technology partnerships and joint development of advanced military platforms.

Over the past decade, the defence relationship between the two countries has expanded significantly through military exercises, defence agreements and increasing procurement of American military equipment by India. However, Washington is now increasingly viewing India not only as a buyer but also as a long-term manufacturing and strategic production partner.

Rubio’s comments also reflect wider efforts by Western countries to diversify defence supply chains and reduce dependence on concentrated manufacturing centres amid rising geopolitical uncertainties in the Indo-Pacific region.

By emphasising that several countries were exploring partnerships with India for defence manufacturing, Rubio projected New Delhi as an emerging centre for global military-industrial cooperation.

India’s push for domestic manufacturing under initiatives such as “Make in India” and “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” has encouraged foreign defence firms to explore local partnerships, joint ventures and production facilities. Analysts say India’s combination of engineering talent, lower production costs and expanding infrastructure has made it increasingly attractive for international defence investment.