India Okays Move To Buy Armed Drones From US Ahead Of PM's Visit

The Defence Ministry has approved the procurement of US-made armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones, sources told Reuters today.

India will buy 31 drones made by General Atomics worth slightly over $3 billion, one of the sources said.

The Defence 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 Defence Ministry's top body for capital procurement met today to approve the deal, which is expected to be announced when PM Modi meets US President Joe Biden next week.

Mr 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 PM Modi's cabinet.

The US government approved the sale of 30 drones to India more than two years ago, but the Defence Ministry had been sitting on the decision.

However, once dates for PM 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 Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean Region.

The Indian Navy has leased two MQ-9B unarmed drones since November 2020 for surveillance.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan finished his two-day visit to Delhi on Wednesday, meeting his counterpart Ajit Doval, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar and PM Modi.

A week earlier, American Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had spent two days in Delhi and announced a joint roadmap 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 country's domestically produced fighter jets, which will also be announced during PM Modi's visit.