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This is an archive article published on February 1, 2024

India clears first hurdle in purchase of 31 US MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones

US State Department approves potential sale of 31 armed MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones.

predator drone india us dealWhile the Navy will get 15 Sea Guardian drones, the Indian Air Force and the Army will each get eight Sky Guardian drones.

The US State Department has approved a potential sale of 31 armed MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones, missiles and supporting equipment to India for an estimated USD 4 billion, seven months after India announced its plan to buy them during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington DC.

The Pentagon announced it on Thursday, saying that the US “Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying the (US) Congress of this possible sale today”.

“The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of India of MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of $3.99 billion,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said on Thursday night.

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It said that the Indian government has requested to buy 31 MQ-9B SkyGuardian aircraft, 161 Embedded Global Positioning & Inertial Navigation Systems (EGIs), 35 L3 Rio Grande Communications Intelligence Sensor Suites, 170 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles, 16 M36E9 Hellfire Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM), 310 GBU-39B/B Laser Small Diameter Bombs (LSDB), and 8 GBU-39B/B LSDB Guided Test Vehicles (GTVs) with live fuzes. The other equipment included ground control stations, missile launchers, tactical training rounds, high frequency radios, and radars.

The Pentagon statement read that this “proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to strengthen the US-India 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.”

The proposed sale, it said, “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.”

It also said that the proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

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According to the Pentagon, 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,” it said.

Earlier in the day, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, “Of course, Congress plays an important role in the US arms transfer process. We routinely consult with members of Congress on the foreign affairs committees before our formal notification so we can address questions that they might have, but I don’t have any comment on when that formal notification might take place.”

Miller said the proposed mega drone deal announced during the historic State Visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2023 offers significant potential to further advance bilateral strategic technology and military cooperation in the region.

“This is a proposed sale that was announced during Prime Minister Modi’s visit last year. We believe it offers significant potential to further advance strategic technology cooperation with India and military cooperation in the region,” Miller said.

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Under the USD 3 billion deal, India will get 31 High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAVs, of which the Navy will get 15 SeaGuardian drones, while the Army and the Indian Air Force will get eight each of the land version – SkyGuardian.

Responding to questions on the issue, MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday, “This relates to the US side…they have their internal processes. We are respectful of that.”

India and US have been discussing the proposed procurement after Washington responded to New Delhi’s Letter of Request (LoR) for acquisition of the drones from US defence major General Atomics (GA).

The proposed procurement figured in US Defence Secretary Lloyd J Austin’s talks with Defence minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi in November last year.

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The Defence Acquisition Council headed by Singh on June 15 last year accorded the Acceptance of Necessity or initial approval for the acquisition of 31 MQ-9B drones from the US under the foreign military sale route.

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

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