 "India seals $3 billion drone deal with US ahead of PM Modi's visit")
The defence ministry has approved the procurement of US-made armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones, sources told Reuters on Thursday. India will buy 31 drones made by General Atomics worth slightly over $3 billion, one of the sources said. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
The ministry’s initial clearance for the procurement comes just days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for a state visit to the US next week.
According to the two sources, the ministry’s apex body for capital procurement met on Thursday to approve the deal, which is expected to be announced when Modi meets US. President Joe Biden next week.
Biden has made deepening defence ties with India a priority to counter China’s growing dominance, and has offered to collaborate on military technology even though the two countries lack a formal security alliance. The ministry's “Acceptance of Necessity” is the first step in the procurement process, which now needs clearance from the Cabinet.
The US government approved the sale of 30 drones to India more than two years ago, but the India had been sitting on the decision. However, once dates for Modi’s four-day US visit starting June 21 were finalised, the Biden administration started nudging India to show progress on the deal.
The drones will predominantly be used by the navy in the Indian Ocean Region. Both of India’s traditional adversaries, China and Pakistan, have sophisticated air defence systems that can limit the use of the drones along India’s land borders. The Navy has leased two MQ-9B unarmed drones since November 2020 for surveillance.
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US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan finished his two-day visit to New Delhi on Wednesday, meeting his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and Modi.
A week earlier American Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had spent two days in Delhi and announced a joint road map for defence industry cooperation, providing a boost to India’s ambitions of manufacturing more weapons within the country. The US has been trying to wean India away from its traditional arms dependence on Russia, its largest exporter of weapons for decades.
The Biden administration is also poised to approve manufacturing of General Electric’s engines in India for the domestically produced fighter jets, which will also be announced during Modi’s visit.