Sale of 31 MQ-9B drones to India by the US will provide with enhanced maritime security and domain awareness capability

The US has stated that India will benefit from improved maritime security and domain awareness capabilities with the long-endurance drones after Washington approved the export of General Atomics MQ-9B armed drones.

According to the State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel, "We believe this sale will provide India with an enhanced maritime security and maritime domain awareness capability," the news outlet PTI reported Patel. "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 stated in a news conference.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic State visit to the US in June of last year, the anticipated mega drone agreement was made public. This was a momentous event that highlighted the growing strategic cooperation between India and the US. The planned sale includes a wide range of cutting-edge tools and assistance to strengthen India's armed forces. Precision-guided weapons, cutting-edge surveillance gear, and the infrastructure required for MQ-9B aircraft upkeep and operation are among the things on the list.

India's capacity to counter present and emerging threats would be strengthened by this all-encompassing programme, which places special focus on unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance missions in strategically important maritime routes. The US Congress must consider the proposed sale for 30 days as part of the selling procedure. This procedural phase enables legislative scrutiny of the proposal.