The US State Department has said it has approved the possible sale of 31MQ-9B armed UAVs and related equipment to India for an estimated cost of $3.99 billion.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) delivered the required certification notifying Congress, which has to ratify arms sales, of this possible deal on Thursday.
The drone deal with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US. India had issued a letter of intent for 31 MQ-9B Sky Guardian 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 Defense Security Cooperation Agency said late last night.
The deal also covers Ground Control Stations; TPE-331-10-GD engines; M299 Hellfire missile launchers; different radars; initial spare and repair parts, accessories; secure communications, precision navigation, and cryptographic equipment; munitions support and support equipment.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the US by helping to strengthen the US-Indian strategic relationship and improving the security of a major defence partner, which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South-Asia region,” the DSCA note read.
The Indian Navy has deployed two MQ9Bs that it has taken on lease, for surveillance of the Indian Ocean Region and is expecting 15 from the proposed deal, while the Indian Army and Air Force will get 8 each to improve their capabilities.
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, the DSA said.
It, however, said offset obligations in the deal have not been settled and the “agreement will be defined in negotiations between the purchaser and the contractor”.