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Nations are obliged to look to their interests first, not their sympathies. Although the US and India are more than friends, they are less than allies. With the US denying key first tier arms and technologies even to its closest allies, it cannot be expected to provide them to India, which is not an ally.

The key consideration is whether India's arms procurement practices and strategies serve India's interests. I submit that delays, corruption, poor planning and management, and over reaching have squandered time and resources and diminished India's military strength and her security as a nation.

Coming from an American, this claim seems to offend you. I urge you to take that out of consideration by running a Google search with the terms +India +military +corruption and focusing on Indian and other non-US sources. Note the many courageous military officers, journalists, and civilian reformers who address the corruption issue.

More broadly, with the same method, take a critical look at India's national security strategy and whether its military procurement effort actually serves India's interests as well as it should. I submit that India's lack of adequate modern weapons today means that she should seek to procure them and put them into service as soon as possible instead of in the extended time frames that joint development projects with Russia imply.

Otherwise, it seems likely that a militarily weak India will one day need to call Washington for essential help at a decisive moment. I prefer for the sake of both countries that such a day never arrives.

The argument here isn't about sympathies. Its about which country has the best reputation as the most reliable supplier of weapons and technologies. Let alone denying key first tier technologies, India was under a 30 years arms and technology embargo even while US passed on hi tech weapons to both Pakistan and China. Those embargoes have only been slightly eased under Bush administration. The relationship India has with Russia, France and even Israel isn't likely to be replaced by US unless there is something extraordinary happening.

Delays, corruption, poor planning, management in the area or defense isnt unique to India. You and I both know even a country like US has a fair share of similar problems. You only need to look at your own F-35 delays and biblical cost overruns. Also read about Royal Navy's strategic disaster with Harriers replacement with F-35 JSF program.

And running a Google search means nothing. All you will get is random sound bytes. I follow Indian defense new very closely and much of the stink raised by vested interests over Indian procurement policies are just pure garbage.

Americans like you blindly assume that when it is India, everything is corrupt. Fact is quite the opposite, in recent times India's procurement policies have been the most transparent and corruption free. Ever since the Bofors scandal killed the Rajiv Gandhi government, successive governments have been extremely cautious and transparent with their procurement policies. And that is one of the major reasons for the massive delays in defense acquisition.

A major element of future defense modernization is indigenisation of production and design of defense equipment alongside JVs with close allies. And that's the trajectory India has rightly chosen. And yes there will be ample problems with delays, poor planning and cost overruns. It is expected and India will just have to work through those issues. Most of the JVs with Israel and some of the JVs with Russia such as Brahmos, Su-30MKIs and nuclear submarine development have been some of the most successful ventures.

Either ways, none of the above issues will likely be addressed by hastily expediting defense procurement process and buying extremely expensive and downgraded equipment from America whose reputation as a reliable supplier is kinda sketchy. That way you only end up being paper tiger like Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, South Korea or any of the European countries (all US allies). None have any real strength to fight their enemies let alone take on global heavyweight.

India on the other hand, even with corruption and delays has REAL military power unlike ANY of the so-called "US allies".

“Otherwise, it seems likely that a militarily weak India will one day need to call Washington for essential help at a decisive moment.”

Sorry. That never happens. Its Pakistan that goes to Washington for help, not India. You probably confused India with Pakistan like most Americans.

India may not have a lot of things but the one thing India has is military power. Besides during Iraq war it was Washington that came to New Delhi asking for help.