Washington: The sale of General Atomics MQ9-B armed drones would provide India with an enhanced maritime security and domain awareness capability, the United States has said. Last week, the State Department informed of its decision to authorise the sale of 31 MQ-9B armed drones at an estimated cost of USD 3.99 billion.
The projected mega drone agreement was revealed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic state visit here in June 2023. This sale, we believe, will provide India with an enhanced maritime security and maritime domain awareness capability, State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters at his daily news conference.
It offers India outright ownership of these aircraft, and this is something that we'll continue to deepen our cooperation with our Indian partners on, Patel said.
Earlier, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Friday approved the sale of MQ-9B drones to India, saying the "US-India partnership plays a key role in Indo-Pacific stability." The approval comes a day after the US State Department approved the sale of 31 armed drones, missiles, and other equipment to India for nearly USD 4 billion.
US Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement on his approval of the sale of MQ-9B drones to India, following assurances from the administration about steps taken to address recent allegations of transnational repression.
