New Delhi: Among the key issues to be discussed at the upcoming 2+2 dialogue in Washington between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with their American counterparts Mike Pompeo and Mark T Esper would be interoperability of Indian and US naval ships.

Despite the existing Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) framework for the interchange of encrypted communication between India and the US, effective joint operations using ships, submarines and aircraft shall be possible only when interoperability is achieved at the tactical level through the Tactical Data Link (TDL) of each Force.

This is one of the many issues that will be discussed at the forthcoming 2+2 Indo-US Ministerial Dialogue.

The COMCASA allows greater access to critical communication networks for interoperability and this agreement will support installation and exploitation of high-end security gadgets on the US-supplied defence equipment.