Trump Wrongly Says India Ordered 68 Apache Helicopters

New Delhi: United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday made incorrect claims about India’s purchase of Apache attack helicopters, asserting that New Delhi had ordered 68 helicopters and faced prolonged delivery delays. He also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had complained to him about the delays and addressed him as “Sir”.

Speaking at the House GOP Member Retreat, Trump was quoted by media reports as saying that India had been waiting for five years for the helicopters. “India ordered 68 Apaches and didn’t get them for five years. Prime Minister Modi came to see me. ‘Sir, may I see you please?’” he said.

However, records show that India had ordered only 28 Apache helicopters from the US. Of these, 22 were ordered in 2015 and inducted into service during 2019-20, while six additional helicopters were ordered in 2020 and inducted last year.

The US President further claimed that Prime Minister Modi was “not that happy” with him due to high American tariffs on Indian exports. He said India was paying significant tariffs because of its oil purchases, but added that India had “reduced it very substantially” with regard to imports from Russia. Trump also said, “I have a very good relationship with him.”

Trump went on to defend his tariff policy, claiming that the US was benefiting financially. “We’re getting rich because of tariffs,” he said, adding that over $650 billion would be invested in the US as a result.

The US imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India in August last year, with half of the levy cited as a penalty for India’s purchase of Russian oil. Trump has recently threatened to impose additional tariffs, even as India and the US continue negotiations on a bilateral trade agreement.