The United States on Thursday approved a US$4 billion sale of state-of-the-art drones to India, offering a new edge to the growing US partner as border tensions simmer with China.
The sale marks a milestone in Indian purchases of American weapons after New Delhi’s historic reliance on weapons from Russia, which have been increasingly controversial due to sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
Indian officials had discussed the drones during a state visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year at the invitation of US President Joe Biden, following Indian skirmishes both with China and its historic adversary Pakistan.
After months of discussion, the State Department said it had informed Congress of the sale, which includes 31 MQ-9B Sky Guardians, the most advanced among its Predator drones built by General Atomics.
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Biden, Modi hail new era of US-India ties and tout deals
Biden, Modi hail new era of US-India ties and tout deals
“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,” a State Department statement said.
“India has demonstrated a commitment to modernising its military and will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces.”
The Sea Guardians can monitor the seas as well as submarines and can remain airborne for 35 hours at a time, fire Hellfire missiles and carry around 450kg (1,000 pounds) of bombs.
The deal also includes sophisticated communications and surveillance equipment, 170 Hellfire missiles and 310 Laser Small Diameter Bombs, a precision glide bomb.
How can US-India ties survive murder plot? Because both need a counter to China
How can US-India ties survive murder plot? Because both need a counter to China
The sale still needs approval by the US Congress, where most lawmakers favour strong relations with India but several members, especially on the left of Biden’s Democratic Party, have criticised Modi’s record on human rights.
The State Department nod signals that the deal likely has cleared one stumbling block, approval by leaders of US congressional committees.
Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he had ended his “hold” on the agreement now that the Biden administration had agreed to fully investigate an Indian assassination plot on US soil.
“The [Biden] administration has demanded that there be investigation and accountability in regards to the plot here in the United States, and that there is accountability within India against these types of activities,” Cardin told reporters.
Additional reporting by Reuters