About COMCASA Agreement Details, Features, Aim, Significance

About COMCASA Agreement Details, Features, Aim, Significance, Highlights

The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA agreement) was signed by India and the United States during the first-ever held ‘2 + 2’ dialogue which was held on 6th September 2018 in New Delhi.

The Union Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman and US Secretary of Defence James Mattis signed the COMCASA agreement.

The signing of COMCASA agreement will enable India to access advanced technologies from the US and enhance India's defense preparedness. It comes into effect immediately and has a lifespan of 10 years.

The Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) is one of the four foundational agreements that a country requires to sign to become a major defense partner of the United States.

The other three agreements are General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMoA) and the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA).

The COMCASA agreement provides the legal framework for the US to part with its sensitive communication equipment and codes to enable transfer of realtime operational information. This equipment is largely used for ground-to-air communication to enable best battle situation awareness.

The COMCASA agreement ensures that the militaries of the US and India can boost their "interoperability" as well as share operational intelligence in real-time in the years ahead.

For instance, if a US warship or aircraft detects a Chinese submarine in the Indian Ocean, it can convey to India through warships or aircraft equipped with COMCASA-protected equipment in real-time.

The COMCASA agreement will allow the US to transfer high-tech avionics, encrypted communication, and electronic systems as well as ensure secrecy of its C4ISR (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) systems.