US-India Drone Deal: The planned drone agreement between the US and India has the US State Department excited, highlighting its “significant potential” to boost strategic technological cooperation.
The agreement, which marked a significant expansion in the US-India security alliance during the previous ten years, was unveiled during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit last year.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller emphasised the significance of the agreement in strengthening military cooperation in the area and advancing strategic technology cooperation with India.
“So I’ll say that generally, the US-India Defence Partnership has seen significant growth over the past decade,” Miller said, addressing the reporters. The announcement of this prospective sale came during Prime Minister Modi’s visitation last year.”
“We believe it offers significant potential to further advance strategic technology cooperation with India and military cooperation in the region,” he stated.
In addition, he recognised that Congress plays a critical role in the arms transfer process and emphasised that regular meetings with members of Congress on foreign affairs committees occur prior to official announcements.
US-India Drone Deal
“Of course, Congress has a big say in how US weapons are sent. Before formally notifying them, we often confer with members of Congress on the foreign affairs committees to answer any issues they may have. However, I’m not sure when that official notice could occur,” Miller added.
The planned drone agreement is a component of larger initiatives to fortify defence relations between India and the United States.
US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Modi praised India’s intentions in June 2023 to purchase General Atomics Predator drones, a massive agreement that would enable US Navy ships to undergo extensive repairs at Indian shipyards.
Both PM Modi and President Biden praised India’s intentions to purchase General Atomics MQ-9B HALE UAVs. The Indian-assembled MQ-9Bs will improve the armed services’ ISR capabilities in all areas. According to the US-India joint statement, General Atomics would also develop a comprehensive global MRO facility in India as part of this strategy.
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General Atomics MQ-9B HALE UAVs
Beyond the Indian Ocean to the border area with China, the arrangement would improve India’s national security and surveillance capacities.
India’s two main enemies, China and Pakistan, have extensive land and marine borders, so it needs to constantly keep an eye on their actions to protect its interests in national security.
The Quad grouping of nations—which consists of the United States, India, Australia, and Japan—operates or has operated the MQ-9B SeaGuardian. At the moment, India is renting MQ-9Bs for the purpose of gathering intelligence.
The Predators, also known as the MQ-9 Reaper, are capable of flying for up to 36 hours straight and are useful for targeted surveillance of any given location or region of interest.
Up to 31 Predator drones, which India will shortly purchase from the US, would be cooperatively operated by the three services.
President Biden and Prime Minister Modi both praised the historic agreement between General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to produce GE F-414 jet engines in India for the latter company’s light combat aircraft, the TEJAS MK-2, the statement said.
