Israel Released Detained Palestinian-American Teen After Kushner Intervened

 

Israel Released Detained Palestinian-American Teen After Kushner Intervened — Sources

 

Israel agreed to release a Palestinian-American teenager detained for over nine months after US President Donald Trump’s top aide Jared Kushner intervened on the boy’s behalf last month, a US official and a second source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel.

Israel detained Mohammed Ibrahim in February on allegations that he threw stones at Israeli troops in the West Bank — a charge his family denies. Ibrahim was never charged and instead held using a controversial practice known as administrative detention, where suspects can be held indefinitely without due process. The tool is employed against several thousand Palestinians and a number of Israeli Arabs; Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered an end to its application against Israeli Jews earlier this year.

Ibrahim turned 16 in prison, and his family said that his health significantly deteriorated, as he lost over 20 pounds and contracted scabies — both common consequences for Palestinian prisoners, according to Israel’s own Public Defender’s Office. A Florida resident, Ibrahim was visiting family in the West Bank when he was arrested.

Ibrahim’s family lobbied US lawmakers for his release, and the boy’s case eventually was brought to the attention of Kushner, who contacted senior Israeli officials demanding his release, the US official and second source said. Washington took particular issue with the fact that a US citizen was being held without charge by an allied country, the sources said.
– The Times of Israel

Our Take: My two main takeaways from this story are:

1) Jared Kushner seems like a good man who takes a lot of flak from various segments of the MAGA coalition — not just the Groypers — who accuse him of being sinister. This probably was a favor asked of him by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but the fact that he pushed to make it happen, ending a nine month imprisonment that has been imposed without any charges being filed, shows that he has the clout among the Israelis to make such things happen, and the willingness to exercise that influence for something good.

And,

2) Why the hell is the government of Israel imprisoning a 16 year old child from a foreign nation? Especially without filing charges? And keeps him imprisoned for nine months? Without due process?

(Remember: This is being reported by The Times of Israel, which is basically state media.)

Tell me more about the origins of antisemitism, and how it is spread. Tell me more about how nations like Qatar spend millions of dollars to “brainwash” people online into disliking Israel.

Did Qatar make the government of Israel do this? Did Qatar make Israel imprison a foreign child for nearly a year without due process? Did Qatar send in the American to rescue the child, showing the world the power of American (Christian) grace?

Obviously, Jared Kushner doesn’t look at this 16 year old kid and see the same monster that Israel sees. If he did, he would have made up an excuse for why he couldn’t get him released, and most likely Palestinians would have begrudgingly accepted it. Instead, we see a clear-cut example of how American culture is morally superior to that of Israel. The American did not see things the way the Israeli did, though both were Jewish. And we can recognize that we are seeing two different cultures at work.

So maybe it isn’t antisemitism; maybe it is merely anti-Israel?

Regardless, Israeli culture has a serious moral decay that will need to be addressed if there is going to be peace and harmony in the Middle East.

It is past time for us, as both Christians and Americans, to start that conversation. – GhostofBasedPatrickHenry

Trump demands immunity from the International Criminal Court, or ELSE

 From FB of Robert Hartford

Occupy Democrats 

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BREAKING: White House MELTDOWN! Trump demands immunity from the International Criminal Court — and threatens sanctions if they don’t deliver.

In a move that screams guilty conscience, the Trump White House has just issued a threat straight out of a mob movie: promise not to prosecute Donald Trump, or we’ll sanction the International Criminal Court.

Yes, you read that right. The administration is openly pressuring the world’s top war-crimes tribunal to pledge it will never investigate the president, the vice president, or even the secretary of war — not now, not in 2029, not ever.

According to Reuters, Trump officials told the ICC to stand down immediately and drop all ongoing investigations, including probes into U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Israel’s leadership over the war in Gaza. If they don’t? The administration is threatening to slap sanctions not just on ICC officials but on the court itself, effectively trying to kneecap the world’s primary venue for prosecuting atrocities.

For a president who loves to rant about “law and order,” Trump suddenly seems terrified of… checks notes… law and order.

This isn’t just an unprecedented flex — it’s a full-blown assault on international justice. The U.S. never signed the 2002 Rome Statute that created the ICC, but no American president has ever attempted to bully the court into giving them lifetime immunity. This is banana-republic behavior from a White House desperate to put Trump above the reach of global accountability.

And the reason? One Trump official spelled it out with stunning honesty: There’s “growing concern that in 2029 the ICC will turn its attention to the president.”

In other words: Trump fears he’ll one day face investigations for his actions — and he’s trying to stop that future before it arrives.

The administration’s message is crystal clear: prosecute Trump and face retaliation from the world’s largest superpower. Drop the cases, or else.

But here’s the truth that Trump can’t sanction away: if you demand immunity in advance, people will wonder what crimes you’re afraid you’ll be charged with. And judging by this tantrum, Trump’s list must be a long one.

Welcome to the latest chapter in American democracy’s ongoing stress test — where the president is no longer hiding his desperation to escape accountability, he’s threatening the global justice system to make it happen.

Christian Pastors, Influencers Join 1,000-Strong Israel Mission Backing Jewish State, Fighting Antisemitism

 

Christian Pastors, Influencers Join 1,000-Strong Israel Mission Backing Jewish State, Fighting Antisemitism

 

A delegation of 1,000 U.S. Christian pastors and influencers — the largest group of American Christian leaders to visit Israel since its founding — arrived last Tuesday as part of a Friends of Zion initiative.

The trip, organized in partnership with the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is designed to provide training and prepare participants to serve as unofficial ambassadors for Israel in their communities.

Dr. Mike Evans, founder of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center in Jerusalem and a confidant of President Donald Trump, said most Evangelical Bible believers are Zionists, making them a key ally in efforts to counter antisemitism. – Fox News

Our Take: The largest group of Christian pastors to ever visit Israel? And they brought social media influencers, too? But, why?

You don’t have to be a genius to figure this one out. Israel is building a propaganda army, and using the Christian Church to do it. From the article:

“These devils that hate Jews hate Christians just as much. What is being said against the state of Israel is one hundred times worse than what the Nazis said on their party platform in 1920, and everyone is ignoring it. They don’t realize how dangerous this is,” Evans told Fox News Digital.

These people are so sinister. They claim that people like me — who simply want sovereignty, self-governance, and an accountable government — are agents of Qatar because I merely post videos and news articles that consistently demonstrate that the Israel lobby has greater influence and control over the US government than American citizens do. They are also now saying that we are worse than Nazis, which is definitely a gaslighting dog-whistle to bring retribution — violent or otherwise — against the critics of Israel.

They purport that there is some secret brainwashing program underway to turn all of the young people against Israel, but the reality is that what is radicalizing most people is simply listening to the rhetoric of Israeli leaders and ardent Zionists.

When US Congressman Randy Fine posts “Starve them all,” (multiple times) on X, referring to the 2.5 million inhabitants of Gaza, it leads people to view Randy Fine as a scumbag, and the underlying ideology that possessed him to make such a statement, as evil.

You can’t explain any of this to people like Mark Levin, whose pride and arrogance deprive them of the ability (and humility) to reflect on how deeply twisted their souls have become due to their uncontrolled bloodlust. Driving that bloodlust is greed, as many of these Zionists believe that once they kill a sufficient number of people, the remaining survivors will either surrender or flee, allowing the Zionists to steal their land.

All of this is so unspeakably evil — and, obviously, anti-Christian — that it is hard to believe that there are so many people falling for it.

The Talmud may say that killing and stealing is sometimes permissible in the eyes of God, but such statements are the seducing lies of Satan. To even suggest that such a concept could possibly align with the teachings of Christ is downright Satanic.

Killing these people and taking their land will not bring any of these Zionists closer to God, but they don’t want to hear any of it. They want to recruit an army of church-leaders, bribe them with material amenities and ego-stroking, and then deploy them into the Christian community to convince their vulnerable congregations to support warmongering, the murder of innocents, and property theft.

It is hard to believe that out of 1,000 pastors, not one had the temerity to preach the Word of God to the group and try to bring them back to Christ. Instead, they all are willingly engaged in state propaganda to trick Christians into supporting the efforts to establish a material kingdom in this temporary world. The real Kingdom comes in the afterlife, as Christ said, and nothing in this secular world should be exalted as something divine.

I like to make light of these geopolitical storylines, and have fun with these takes, but this is a really sad thing to witness…

American Christians are being led astray, blinded by their pride and ego, and are betraying the teachings of Jesus. – GhostofBasedPatrickHenry

Why Thailand and Cambodia are fighting again after Trump ceasefire

BBC:


Why Thailand and Cambodia are fighting again after Trump ceasefire

19 hours ago
Jonathan Head

South East Asia correspondent

Getty Images
Thailand and Cambodia have blamed each other for breaking a US-brokered ceasefire, which had brought a pause to violent clashes that broke out earlier this year


Once again the boom of artillery, rockets and air strikes sounds along the Thai-Cambodian border.

Villages in a corridor stretching for hundreds of kilometres have been evacuated for a second time in five months. Families and their pets sit on mats in temporary shelters, wondering when they can go home, and when they might be forced to flee yet again.

Why has this happened so soon after the ceasefire brokered by US President Donald Trump in July?

It was ignited by a seemingly minor incident on Sunday, when a Thai engineering team working on an access road in the disputed area of the border was, according to the Thai army, fired on by Cambodian troops. Two Thai soldiers were injured, neither seriously.

In the past this might have been settled by some fleet-footed diplomacy. But there has been little of that this year. Instead a yawning gulf of mistrust lies between these two neighbours, one even Trump's deal-making prowess has failed to bridge.

Getty Images
At least half a million people have been evacuated on both sides of the border as clashes continue


Despite his claim to have struck a historic peace deal, the ceasefire he forced on the two countries in July was always tenuous.

Thailand in particular was very uneasy about internationalising the border conflict, and only agreed to the ceasefire because Trump held a tariff gun to its head; at the time both Thailand and Cambodia were just days away from a deadline to negotiate significantly lower tariff rates on their vital exports to the US.

Cambodia, by contrast, is only too happy to welcome outside intervention. As the smaller country it feels at a disadvantage in bilateral negotiations with Thailand.

But on the border its troops have continued to engage in confrontations with the Thai army, and, in a move guaranteed to anger the Thai public, to lay new land-mines which have so far caused seven Thai soldiers to lose limbs. Thailand has presented compelling evidence of this, accused Cambodia of bad faith, and refused to release 18 of its soldiers captured in July.


US tells Thailand and Cambodia to stop fighting as clashes continue

Thousands flee Thai-Cambodia border after deadly clashes

Thailand suspends Cambodia 'peace deal'


Since July, any restraint there was on the Thai armed forces has gone. The current prime minister Anutin Charvirakul heads a minority coalition, and is beset with other challenges. He has given the military carte blanche to manage the border conflict as it sees fit.

The army has said its goal is to inflict sufficient damage on its Cambodian counterpart to ensure it can never again threaten border communities. It also wants to take control of several hill-top positions which would give its soldiers greater advantage in any future battles with Cambodian forces.





Both sides have been manoeuvring around these positions all year, trying to reinforce roads access and fortifications around them.

The Thais believed they were on track to push the Cambodians back when they were forced to stop in July. The military says it wants to finish the job now.

It also sees its role of defending Thailand's territorial claims as a sacred one, even though this conflict is about tiny slivers of mostly unpopulated land.

Getty Images
Cambodia has continued to lay new land-mines in its borderlands with Thailand, causing at least seven Thai soldiers to lose limbs


The motivations at work in the Cambodian leadership are much harder to divine.

Former Prime Minister Hun Sen is still the puppet-master pulling the strings of his son, current PM Hun Manet. Publicly he has appealed for restraint by his troops, portraying Cambodia as being bullied by a more powerful neighbour and in need of international support.

Yet his interventions in this simmering border dispute have been decisive this year, in particular his decision to leak a confidential phone conversation with the then-Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra, whose father Thaksin was a long-standing friend and business partner of Hun Sen's.

Her leaked comments, praising him and condemning her own army commanders for being too gung-ho, were catastrophic for her and her father. Her government collapsed, he has gone to jail, and many Thais, even those bitterly opposed to the Shinawatra family, have been angered by the perception that Cambodia has been meddling in Thai politics.

Thai public opinion is now much more in favour of their army's hard-line approach to Cambodia.

Can President Trump bang heads together again as he did in July? Perhaps.

But if all he achieves is another ceasefire it will only be a matter of time before fighting breaks out again. And Thailand has said repeatedly that it is not yet ready for diplomacy. Cambodia, it says, must show sincerity before it is ready to try for a ceasefire again.

What that means exactly is not clear, but at the very least it would require a decisive and verified end to the use of land-mines on the border.

Zelenskyy rallies key allies as Ukraine faces Russian and US pressure

al Jazeera:

Zelenskyy rallies key allies as Ukraine faces Russian and US pressure

The Ukrainian leader holds urgent talks with the ‘coalition of the willing’ as pressure mounts over territorial concessions

Zelenskyy faces mounting pressure to accept territorial concessions as Western allies scramble to shape peace negotiations with Russia [File: Susana Vera/Reuters]

By Al Jazeera Staff and News Agencies
Published On 11 Dec 2025


Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is holding urgent talks with leaders and officials from approximately 30 countries backing Kyiv’s efforts to secure more favourable terms in negotiations to end the war with Russia, deep into its fourth year.

Ukraine is facing mounting pressure from Russia on the battlefield in its eastern Donetsk region and on the diplomatic front from the United States.

The meeting on Thursday comes a day after US President Donald Trump held discussions with Zelenskyy, along with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The group of Ukraine’s allies, known as the “coalition of the willing”, is scrambling to help steer peace negotiations as European governments warn their own security is at stake and to dilute Russian maximalist demands that the US has been leaning towards.

Trump has been pressing for a rapid settlement to the conflict he once boasted he would solve within 24 hours of retaking office, which has raged across a long front line in eastern Ukraine, with frequent attacks by Russia on the rest of the country. Ukraine has also carried out regular attacks in Russian territory.

Following Wednesday’s call, the US president said the group discussed proposals in “pretty strong terms”, adding that Zelenskyy “has to be realistic” about ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia.

Zelenskyy has said in recent days that Ukraine will not give up territory. The nation’s constitution also forbids it.

Merz described it as a “crucial moment” for Ukraine, saying “intensive work on the peace plan is to continue in the coming days”.

After meeting NATO chief Mark Rutte on Thursday, the German chancellor dismissed reports of tensions during the call with Trump, characterising it as “constructive” and noting discussions about “what territorial concessions Ukraine is prepared to make”.

Merz said territorial questions were matters “the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian people must answer”.



Zelensky to meet Starmer, Macron and Merz to discuss US-led Ukraine peace talks

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M23 offensive near Burundi border spark new humanitarian crisis in eastern DRC


The negotiations have exposed sharp divisions over how much land Ukraine should surrender. Russia has already seized control of all of Luhansk province and occupies large portions of Donetsk, the two regions make up the Donbas, as well as Zaporizhia and Kherson, forming a stretch along Ukraine’s Black Sea coast.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based monitoring group, Russia has gained just 0.77 percent of Ukraine’s territory so far in 2025, suggesting front lines have largely stabilised despite recent Russian momentum.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that Russia has relayed “additional proposals” to the US regarding collective security guarantees, though he offered no details on what the Kremlin had suggested.
War rages in Ukraine’s east

The diplomatic push comes as Russian forces mount intense pressure on the strategic eastern city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk, where Moscow has amassed approximately 156,000 soldiers.

Ukraine reported an unusually large mechanised assault on Wednesday involving a 30-vehicle convoy attempting to breach the city’s defences, the largest such attack inside Pokrovsk to date, which Russian forces have been trying to seize for months.

Capturing the former logistics hub would represent Russia’s most significant territorial gain in nearly two years, adding urgency to Kyiv’s efforts to improve the terms of a peace proposal many view as tilted towards Moscow.

Russia has paid heavily for its Pokrovsk offensive, losing more than 1,000 armoured vehicles and over 500 tanks in the area since October 2023, according to Ukraine’s army.

UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine urges for ceasefire as Russia escalates war


Meanwhile, Ukraine demonstrated its strike capabilities overnight with one of the war’s largest drone attacks, forcing Moscow’s four airports to halt flights for seven hours.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said air defences intercepted 287 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions.

Trump’s peace drive has created tensions with the US Congress, which passed a sweeping defence bill this week that bolsters European security and restricts the president’s authority to reduce troop levels or withdraw equipment from the continent.

The bipartisan legislation sets aside $400m in security assistance for Ukraine and prevents US forces in Europe from dropping below 76,000 personnel.

Ukrainian officials have sent a revised version of the peace plan to Washington. Zelenskyy told reporters late on Wednesday that Ukraine would coordinate with European countries on a bilateral level next week. “Ukraine is working swiftly,” he said.



Battle for Pokrovsk: Ukraine disputes claims Russia captured the city


Trump earlier on Tuesday warned that Kyiv must make concessions, saying Ukraine is ‘losing’ the war.

Tariffs Fail – China’s Trade Surplus Hit Record $1 Trillion

Tariffs Fail – China’s Trade Surplus Hit Record $1 Trillion


December 9th, 2025 by financetwitter



Donald Trump proudly told Americans that his tariffs would “Make America Great Again”, promising a manufacturing boom just like the post-World War II “Golden Age”(1948-1973). It really happens – in China. As the U.S. continues dreaming, Chinese industrial production broke records this year as its factories churned out more cars, machinery and chemicals than ever before.

Despite the U.S. president’s tariff meant to disrupt China’s ambition, the Chinese continues to march ahead – setting trade surplus above US$1 trillion in November for the first time ever. In the first 11 months this year, China’s overall exports grew 5.4% compared to the same period in 2024 while imports fell 0.6%, pushing its trade surplus to US$1.076 trillion this year as of November, up 21.6% year on year.

The best part is the red dragon’s exports kept growing even as China’s U.S.-bound goods fell for an eighth straight month of double-digit declines – plunged 28.6% in November alone. China continues to rely less on selling stuff to the U.S., whilst at the same time grows its shipments to Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa to offset a steep drop in exports to the U.S.


How did China achieve such success? Chinese companies that built their business around low trade barriers to sell into the U.S. have adapted, and in some cases are bouncing back. For example, in May, Chinese-owned e-commerce giant Temu’s business model of selling affordable household goods, beauty products and clothes to American consumers appeared game over.

In addition to the Trump’s tariffs, the White House had tried to kill off Temu’s business by introducing new regulations which ended a loophole that allowed the company to send small packages to the U.S. tariff-free. Today, not only Temu is still alive and kicking, the Chinese online marketplace is once again among the most downloaded apps in the U.S., and business is booming.


With manufacturing output in the first 10 months of the year up 7% compared with the same period in 2024, Chinese manufacturing shows little sign of slowing. Strip out imports of energy, food and raw materials, and China is on track this year to record a surplus in manufactured goods of around US$2 trillion, a huge sum that is on a par with the annual national income of Russia or Italy.


That is twice the surplus in manufactured goods that China reported at the end of Trump’s first term in early 2020, and that was only the manufacturing sector. That means the U.S. efforts to contain China’s economic and strategic ambitions and weaken its grip on essential global supply chains have failed spectacularly. Worse,Trump’s tariff war could backfire.

Despite the temporary trade truce, Chinese policymakers conclude they need to dominate more industries to shield their economy from U.S. pressure and give them more chokepoints they can exploit to further their own political and economic aims. China’s latest exports number defies expectations of a slowdown when Trump returned to the White House and signaled his lan to raise tariffs on China.

The data show direct exports to the U.S. did take a hit from tariffs, falling about 19% over the same period. But the decline was more than made up for by sales to other regions, with exports to Southeast Asia up 14%, exports to the European Union up 8%, exports to Latin America up 7% and exports to Africa jumping by more than 25%.


But that doesn’t mean the Chinese goods have failed completely in entering the U.S. due to the tariffs. China still is able to indirectly get its goods to American ports through other nations such as Vietnam, which has a lower tariff rate. Some of those exports found their way to the U.S., either as parts or components simply by being rebadged as non-Chinese to avoid tariffs.



China’s surprising export strength has also been aided by factories cutting prices and a weak currency, not to mention low interest rates and lack of inflation. The weakness of China’s currency, the renminbi or yuan, is not the only reason prices are low in China. A persistent decline in housing has erased much of the savings of Chinese households, leaving them reluctant to spend.

It takes about 7.1 renminbi to buy a single dollar these days. That weakness has powered China’s exports to remarkable heights. It does not take a rocket scientist to tell that Beijing deliberately weakens the currency to help create millions of jobs at Chinese export factories. However, some economists say that from the perspective of purchasing power parity, the exchange rate isn’t 1 to 7 – it might be 1 to 5 or even 1 to 4.


If the renminbi were to strengthen significantly past 5 to the dollar, China would surpass the United States as having the world’s largest economy when measured in dollars. Some have calculated that if the exchange rate truly reflected purchasing power parity, one dollar would exchange for only about 3.5 yuan. But stronger local currency isn’t something Beijing desires.

China’s weak currency saw how the number of Chinese tourists flocking to Europe has halved since 2019 as they choose far less expensive trips at home instead. It also encourages companies to move production to China. The weakness of the renminbi has helped fuel a sixteenfold increase in Chinese car exports to the European Union over the past five years.

Of course, Trump’s flip-flopping tariff policy has also added fuel to boost China’s booming manufacturing. His decision to target all trading partners with tariffs has, for some manufacturers, reduced the incentive to shift production out of China, especially now that tariffs on Chinese imports have fallen back from earlier highs of 145% on some products.




Average tariffs on Chinese imports are currently around 37%, according to the Tax Policy Center, compared with a rate of about 20% on Vietnamese imports. As tariffs on China came down over the year, Chinese manufacturers decided to stop moving production to Vietnam and keep China as his main production base. Besides, the small difference in tariff rates can’t compensate for the efficiency of Chinese manufacturing.

When President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping reached a truce on trade at a meeting in South Korea, one of the biggest winners was Temu. The company’s huge base of efficient Chinese factory suppliers allowed it to continue to offer cut-rate shoes, bags and makeup at cheaper prices than many competitors. While they’re definitely not as cheap as they were 12 months ago, they’re still cheap enough for Temu to be a good-enough deal.

But China isn’t done yet. Xi Jinping has revealed a new five-year plan to prioritise supporting cutting-edge manufacturing and ensuring Chinese technological dominance and self-reliance in key industries such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence. As it pushes deeper into advanced manufacturing, China also remains the global hub for producing lower-value goods such as toys, clothes and furniture.


Having overtaken Japan to become the world’s biggest car exporter, China is set to export well over 6 million cars in 2025, with a trajectory to export around 8 million in 2026. While China still lags behind U.S. companies such as Nvidia in advanced semiconductor technology, it is fast becoming a dominant force in “legacy chips” – less advanced chips typically used in a range of products such as cars, household appliances and medical devices.

Semiconductor exports grew 24.7% in the first 11 months. In shipbuilding too, China’s ascent up the technology ladder has given it dominance in global markets. Exports of ships grew 26.8% in the first 11 months. These gains in global market share are being repeated elsewhere, as Chinese manufacturers offer cutting-edge technologies at a sharp discount to their competitors in the West.

India Signs Massive Deal For Anti-Sub MH-60R, A Helicopter That U.S. Just Fished Out From China’s Backyard

Thursday, December 11, 2025


India Signs Massive Deal For Anti-Sub MH-60R, A Helicopter That U.S. Just Fished Out From China’s Backyard

By Sakshi Tiwari
-December 11, 2025


The United States recently fished out the MH-60 R (Romeo) and Super Hornet from the South China Sea, where the aircraft had crashed, in an attempt to prevent China from accessing the sensitive technology onboard these systems.

Interestingly, the same chopper is used by the Indian Navy for ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare).

India signed a contract for 24 helicopters from the US under the Foreign Military Sales program in February 2020, with deliveries starting in 2021. Of these, about 15 have been inducted as of December 2025. The first squadron of these choppers, called INAS 334, was commissioned on March 6, 2024, at INS Garuda in Kochi.

Earlier this month, the Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD) signed a $946 million sustainment deal for the 24 helicopters.

“Great news in our defense relationship with India. India’s Ministry of Defense signed a sustainment package for its 24 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters, developed by Lockheed Martin. This 946 million dollar package will enhance the Indian Navy’s maritime capabilities, build interoperability with the US and regional partners, and make both our nations safer and more prosperous,” the US State Department wrote on X at the time.



These helicopters support anti-submarine warfare, surveillance, and search-and-rescue missions, among others.


The MH-60R ‘Romeo’ is the US Navy’s primary anti-submarine and surface warfare helicopter, specially designed for all aspects of land or maritime operations from any aviation ship or air-capable vessel.

The chopper has demonstrated unmatched multi-mission capabilities since achieving full operational capability in 2010, achieving the highest mission-capable rates of any maritime helicopter.

Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopter of the Indian Navy – Wikimedia Commons


The US rushed to pull out the wreckage of this chopper to ensure that China does not get to it first and access the state-of-the-art technology, including the AN/AQS-22 ALFS low-frequency dipping sonar, which is the exact system China has repeatedly tried (and failed) to fully replicate for its Z-20F naval helicopter, as recently reported by the EurAsian Times.

One of the main drivers for India’s acquisition of these choppers was the obsolescence of British-origin Sea King Mk. 42B/C helicopters in the face of a sustained security threat from China and Pakistan in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Notably, the Chinese submarine presence in the eastern Indian Ocean and its approaches to the Malacca Straits worry India. China is also arming the Pakistani Navy with AIP-equipped, sophisticated Hangor-class submarines. Therefore, MH-60R helicopters are extremely critical to the Indian Navy.

Indian Naval Aviation Arm Is Barely Indian

India is aggressively pursuing indigenisation of its military equipment and capabilities under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative as part of the broader “Make in India” campaign.

This shift in strategy aims to strengthen national security amid geopolitical unrest, reduce reliance on imports, and position India as a major hub for defense production.

This strategy is particularly significant for reducing vulnerability to foreign sanctions, delays, or geopolitical leverage. Moreover, it is meant to ensure that the Indian Armed Forces can deploy equipment without any political restrictions and upgrade it with full autonomy—a key requirement for the Indian Armed Forces.


However, the Indian naval aviation arm is currently almost entirely composed of equipment imported from friendly countries like Russia, the UK, the US, France, and Israel.



The Indian Navy’s most decisive intelligence and anti-submarine warfare platforms are now overwhelmingly American. In addition to the MH-60R, the Indian Navy has acquired the P-8I Poseidon and the MQ-9B Sea Guardian.

India procured P-8I with a special focus on monitoring the rising military activity of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the region.

The P-8 is a versatile maritime patrol aircraft that excels in anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, as well as search-and-rescue missions.

The P-8I can also be used for coastal patrolling. It has a maximum range of about 7,500 kilometres and an endurance of 10 hours, enabling it to conduct long-range patrols over the IOR.

Indian Navy P-8I – Wikimedia Commons

Equipped with the APY-10 radar, ALFS-derived acoustics, Harpoon missiles, and Mk54 torpedoes, the P-8I Poseidon provides unmatched wide-area ASW capability across the Indian Ocean.

The aircraft have also flown high-altitude ISR (Intelligence, Reconnaissance, and Surveillance) sorties over eastern Ladakh during the 2020–2022 China standoff, and are capable of shadowing Chinese nuclear submarines near crucial chokepoints. In fact, India is currently finalising a deal for six more P-8Is.

Earlier, the Indian Navy operated the UH-3H Sea King utility helicopters, which were de-inducted on June 28, 2024, after 17 years of service. These choppers were procured to serve as a stopgap until indigenous alternatives like the HAL Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Mk.III materialized.

In addition, the Indian Navy operates two leased MQ-9B SeaGuardian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a maritime variant of the popular MQ-9 Reaper. These high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) drones bridge vital gaps in maritime domain awareness by continuously providing ISR over the IOR.



The drones were leased in November 2020 through the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The lease was valid for two years but has been extended multiple times.

Additionally, in October 2024, India approved the purchase of 31 MQ-9Bs, including 16 SkyGuardians for the Army and the IAF, and 15 SeaGuardians for the Navy.

Notably, the Indian Navy’s main and only carrier-capable aircraft at this point is the MiG-29K or MiG-29KUB acquired from Russia.

Indian Navy MiG-29K-Wikimedia Commons


The United States had aggressively pitched the F/A-18E/F Block III Super Hornet to India’s carrier air wing, but in 2024, New Delhi selected the French Rafale-M instead, signing a contract for 26 aircraft to replace the troubled, aging MiG-29Ks.

Despite the widespread adoption of American ISR platforms and helicopters across India’s armed forces, New Delhi remains deeply reluctant to acquire a US-origin fighter jet, mainly due to historical mistrust.

Moreover, US fighters come with stringent end-use restrictions and oversight mechanisms that many in New Delhi see as an unacceptable infringement on operational sovereignty.

In addition to the MiG-29K, the Indian Navy operates Russian-origin Ka-28 and Ka-31 helicopters, which were acquired many years ago.

The Ka-28 is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter. These coaxial-rotor, shipborne platforms form a critical component of the Navy’s organic airborne ASW capability, primarily with squadron INAS 333 “Trishul” at INS Dega, Visakhapatnam. Meanwhile, the Ka-31 choppers are airborne early warning (AEW) and control helicopters, primarily assigned to INAS 339 “Raptors” at INS Shikra, Mumbai.

The United Kingdom has also been a major source of imports for the Indian Navy. The service operates the BAE Systems Hawk Mk.132 Advanced Jet Trainers (AJTs).



Additionally, the Navy operates the popular Chetak helicopter, which is a French-origin Light Utility helicopter, using it as a versatile workhorse for Search & Rescue (SAR), communications, utility, and light transport roles from both ships and shore bases.

File: Heron drone


The Indian Navy also operates a limited but growing fleet of Israeli-origin unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for ISR missions in the Indian Ocean.

Key systems include the Heron-2 with a 45-hour endurance, a 35,000 ft service ceiling, and a 1,000+ kilometre range without refuelling, which is critical for sustained monitoring over extended periods and distances. It is believed to have performed “very well” during India’s ‘Operation Sindoor’.

The service has also started operating the Hermes 900 drone, locally designated as the Drishti 10 Starliner, manufactured by Adani Defence & Aerospace under license from Israel’s Elbit Systems.

It serves as a key Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) UAV for maritime surveillance, with units based in Porbandar to support extensive naval operations. It is an advanced ISR platform with 36 hours of endurance and a payload capacity of 450 kilograms.

The Indian Navy also operates the ALH Dhruv utility helicopters, a troubled platform that has been in many tragic crashes through the years.

Furthermore, there are plans to develop the TEDBF (Twin-Engine Deck-Based Fighter) for future carrier ops, but analysts have already flagged this as wasteful spending, given that it would be a 4.5th-generation platform similar to the Rafale-Marine.

The Indian Navy’s naval arm is, therefore, far from being truly Indian.Contact the author at sakshi.tiwari13 (at) outlook.com