US Approves $4-bn Drones Deal With India, Congress To Review The Sale
In a major breakthrough, US government Thursday approved the $4-billion Predator armed drones deal with India under which New Delhi will be procuring 31 MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones for its armed forces.
New Delhi: In a major breakthrough, the US government Thursday approved the $4-billion Predator armed drones deal with India under which New Delhi will be procuring 31 MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones for its armed forces. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of the sale. The US Congress now has 30 days to review the proposed sale. Once the review process gets completed both sides will be able to conclude the deal, which will enable the Indian Navy, Indian Army and the Indian Air Force to deploy the drones for their individual security needs.
“Congress now has 30 days to review the proposed sale. Upon conclusion of their review, India and the United States may conclude the sale with a Letter of Offer and Letter of Acceptance,” a US Embassy Spokesperson told ABP LIVE.
According to a statement issued by the Defence Security Cooperation Agency, the U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to India of ‘MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft’ and related equipment for an estimated cost of $3.99 billion. Under the deal package, India will not only be procuring 31 drones but also hellfire missiles, laser bombs, GPS and navigation systems and intelligence sensors, among others.
Post the review of the proposed sale by the US Congress, India will be receiving the letter of acceptance (LoA), which is mandatory in a government-to-government defence deal. The LoA is a type of agreement that the US government issues for selling its defence items and services to the buyer country after meeting the requirements mentioned in the Letter of Request (LoR) by that country.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to strengthen the U.S.-Indian strategic relationship and to improve the security of a major defense partner which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia region,” said the DSCA notification.
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It added, “The proposed sale will improve India’s capability to meet current and future threats by enabling unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance patrols in sea lanes of operation. India has demonstrated a commitment to modernizing its military and will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces.”
The press release also said that the proposed sale of this equipment and support “will not alter the basic military balance in the region. The principal contractor will be General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Poway, CA. The purchaser typically requests offsets. Any offset agreement will be defined in negotiations between the purchaser and the contractor. Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to India. There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.”
ABP LIVE had earlier reported that India has urged the US to expedite the armed drones deal before the Narendra Modi government goes into elections. The MoD approved procurement of 31 MQ-9B Predator ‘hunter-killer’ armed drones last year before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in June 2023. The Indian Navy will get 15 such drones, while the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force will get eight units each.
Drones To Be Assemble In India
The deal to purchase Predator drones — ‘SkyGuardian’ and ‘SeaGuardian’ — both variants of MQ-9B from the US was being negotiated under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme of the US Department of Defence. The talks began after the Narendra Modi government expressed its interest to procure the weaponised unmanned aerial vehicles for all three services — Army, Navy and Air Force — at the ‘US-India 2+2 Talks’ dialogue that took place in Washington DC in April 2022.
Under the proposed deal, the MQ-9B drones will be assembled in India. The maker of these drones, US-based defence conglomerate General Atomics will also establish a Comprehensive Global MRO facility in India to support its long-term goals to boost indigenous defence capabilities.
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In an interview to ABP LIVE last year, Vivek Lall, Chief Executive, General Atomics had said that the MQ-9B would enable the Indian Navy, Army and Air Force to fly the drones “farther than anything else in this category, spend more time in the air and handle a greater diversity of missions than any other similar aircraft.”
"The model being proposed to India is the MQ-9B, which is our most advanced line of remotely piloted aircraft, highlighted by their all-weather performance, unsurpassed endurance and it’s built for flight in unsegregated airspace,” Lall had said.
Both the ‘SkyGuardian’ as well as ‘SeaGuardian’ can deliver full-motion video in virtually any conditions, day or night, as well as other kinds of detailed sensing with their onboard systems. These drones can also carry a wide variety of specialist payloads according to the specific mission they are deployed for.
Apart from intelligence, surveillance or military systems, these drones also carry other forms of payloads, including communications relays, that enable it to act as a node connecting forces operating in land and sea at the same time.
General Atomics has also signed a strategic partnership pact with Bharat Forge to manufacture the main landing gear components, subassemblies, and assemblies of remotely piloted aircraft for the Predator drones. It was signed in January 2023.
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