US said to be pushing India to seal armed-drone deal for Modi visit
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The US is asking India to “show” progress on the deal for as many as 30 MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones.
PHOTO: GENERAL ATOMICS AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS/FACEBOOK
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WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI - Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington, the Biden administration is pushing New Delhi to cut through its own red tape and advance a deal for dozens of US-made armed drones, two people familiar with the matter said.
India has long expressed interest in buying large armed drones from the United States. But bureaucratic stumbling blocks have hampered for years a hoped-for deal for SeaGuardian drones that could be worth US$2 billion (S$2.68 billion) to US$3 billion.
US negotiators are counting on Mr Modi’s White House visit on June 22
Since the date for the visit was fixed, the US State Department, Pentagon and White House have asked that India be able to “show” progress on the deal for as many as 30 armable MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones made by General Atomics, two sources said.
Mr Modi and President Joe Biden are also expected to discuss co-production of munitions and ground vehicles, like armoured personnel carriers, while Mr Modi is in Washington, the sources said.
Spokesmen for the White House, Department of State and the Pentagon declined to comment on the negotiations.
Mr Biden has made deepening ties with India
New Delhi, which often prizes its non-alignment in conflicts between great powers abroad, has frustrated Washington by maintaining some defence and economic ties with Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
Breaking India’s bureaucratic logjam on drones hinges on an internal meeting to generate an “Acceptance of Necessity” document, an Indian precursor to a formal “Letter of Request” which kicks off the foreign military sale process.
As at Tuesday, the sources did not know if New Delhi had generated the necessary internal document.
“That’s gonna be a decision that the government of India needs to make,” said a senior Biden administration official.
“We think it would be good for them to go through with the purchase of MQ-9s. But those decisions are sort of more in the hands of India than they are of us.”
The topic was expected to be on the agenda as Mr Biden’s National Security Adviser, Mr Jake Sullivan, arrived in New Delhi
India’s Defence Ministry had still not made up its mind last week about the number of drones it wants to buy, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
Earlier, the number was pegged at 30, but that was later revised to 24, and then further down to 18 last month. Sources cautioned that the numbers were not final.
India is also seeking for components of the equipment to be domestically manufactured, something that could complicate any deal.
The Quad grouping of countries – the United States, India, Australia and Japan – all operate, or have operated, the MQ-9B SeaGuardian.
Currently, India is leasing MQ-9Bs as part of an intelligence-gathering operation. REUTERS
