Bureaucracy has blocked the deal for SeaGuardian drones — which could be worth $2 billion to $3 billion — for years, the Reuters report says.
Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington, the Biden administration is urging New Delhi to cut its own red tape and strike a deal for dozens of US-made armed drones, two people known with the issue Reuters news agency told.
India has long expressed interest in buying large weaponized drones from the US. But bureaucratic hurdles have for years stymied a deal for SeaGuardian drones, which could be worth $2 billion to $3 billion.
US negotiators are counting on Modi’s visit to the White House on June 22 to seal the deal.
Since the date was set for Modi’s visit, the US State Department, Pentagon and White House have asked India to “show” progress on the deal for as many as 30 weaponizable MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones made by General Atomics, two sources told Reuters.
Modi and Biden are also expected to discuss the co-production of munitions and ground vehicles, such as armored personnel carriers, while Modi is in Washington, the sources said.
Spokesmen from the White House, State Department and Pentagon declined to comment on the negotiations, Reuters reported.
US President Joe Biden has made deepening ties with India a cornerstone of his policy to counter China’s growing influence.
New Delhi, which often touts its non-alignment in conflicts between major world powers, has frustrated Washington by maintaining some defense and economic ties with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.
Breaking India’s bureaucratic blockade on drones hinges on an internal meeting to generate an “Acceptance of Necessity” document, an Indian precursor to a formal “Letter of Request” that kicks off the foreign military sales process.
As of Tuesday, the sources did not know whether New Delhi had generated the necessary internal document.
“That will be a decision for the government of India to make,” a senior Biden administration official told Reuters. “We think it would be good for them to continue purchasing MQ-9s. But those decisions are in the hands of India more than us.”
The topic was expected to be on the agenda when Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday to wrap up preparations for Modi’s visit.
As of last week, India’s defense ministry had still not made a decision on how many drones it plans to buy, a person familiar with the discussions said.
Previously, the number was pegged at 30, but that was later revised to 24 and further down to 18 last month. Sources warned that none of the figures were final.
India is also looking for components of the equipment to be manufactured domestically, something that could complicate any deal.
The Quad grouping of countries – the US, India, Australia and Japan – all operate or have used the MQ-9B SeaGuardian. Currently, India is leasing MQ-9Bs as part of an intelligence gathering operation.