Photographer: John Moore / Getty Images
Photographer: John Moore / Getty Images
India plans to buy 30 armed drones in the U.S. to increase its maritime and land defenses as tensions with neighbors in China and Pakistan persist, according to officials familiar with the matter.
The South Asian nation will approve next month’s $ 3 billion purchase of 30 Predator MQ-9B drones manufactured by San Diego-based General Atomics, officials said, urging them not to identify themselves by speaking to the media of communication. The deal would add to India’s military capabilities, as the drones it now has can only be used for surveillance and reconnaissance.
India is becoming a strategic defense partner of the United States, primarily to combat Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean and some areas of Southeast Asia. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the midst of a ten-year, $ 250 billion military modernization.
Spokesmen for the Ministry of Defense of India and General Atomics did not respond to requests for comment. Pentagon officials also did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the venue, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit India this month media, while President Joe Biden will soon join counterparts from India, Japan and Australia at the first meeting of the “Quad” bloc. The leaders will meet virtually on March 12, according to an announcement posted on the Indian government’s website, which said they would discuss issues such as supply chains, maritime security and climate change.
The MQ-9B drone can fly for about 48 hours and carry a payload of about 1,700 kilograms (3,700 pounds). It will give the Indian Navy the ability to better control Chinese warships south of the Indian Ocean and equip the army to face targets along the disputed India-Pakistan border in the Himalayas.
Last year, India leased two unarmed MQ-9 predators as border tensions China threatened to become a full-blown conflict. In the end, they did not deploy after the Air Force expressed concern about drones manned by American personnel flying over the border.
(Add the date of the Quad meeting to the fifth paragraph.)