US Predator Drones Deal: The Congress has raised questions on the cost of the Predator drone deal with the US. On which a statement has been given by the Central Government. Defense Ministry officials said on Thursday (June 29) that India has signed a deal with the US for 31 Predator drones. Negotiations regarding the price of which are in the initial stage. The proposed average estimated cost would be 27 percent lower than other countries buying it from the US.
A senior Defense Ministry official told news agency ANI that till now India has received indicative price and data from the US Office of Defense Cooperation and the procurement process has to go through various stages of negotiation before finalizing the price. He said that if India does not ask for additional specifications related to the drone, then the cost is likely to go down further during the talks.
India-US drone deal
The indicative cost of these US-made drones is US $ 307.2 million. The official said that for each drone, this price works out to US $ 99 million. He also said that the United Arab Emirates, one of the few countries to have this drone, had to pay US $ 161 million per drone. He said that the MQ-9B that India wants to buy is similar to the UAE’s, but with better structure.
Congress has raised questions
According to the official, each of the sixteen such drones bought by Britain cost US$69 million, but it was only a green aircraft without sensors, weapons and certification. Features like sensors, weapons and payloads account for 60-70 per cent of the total cost. The Congress demanded complete transparency in the Indo-US drone deal and alleged that 31 MQ-9B Predator UAV drones were being bought at a high cost.
Modi government targeted
Congress spokesperson Pawan Kheda said that national security is paramount and many doubts are being raised on the Predator drone deal. We demand complete transparency in this Predator drone deal. India needs answers to important questions. Otherwise we will get caught in another scam in the Modi government. He said that the Modi government is known for jeopardizing national interests and the people of India have seen the same in the Rafale deal, where the Modi government bought only 36 Rafale jets instead of 126.
Defense Ministry dismissed the allegations
Senior Defense Ministry officials denied the claims made by the Congress and said that this is a transparent one-to-one dialogue in which India is dealing directly with the US. General Atomics can sell high-technology drones to India only through the US government under its Foreign Military Sales program. The Defense Ministry official said any such high-technology deal falls under federal acquisition rules and requires the approval of the US Congress.
Largest order for 31 drones placed
The drones that India wants to buy can carry a large amount of weapons and can fly very high. Officials said they can capture high-resolution images even in adverse conditions. General Atomics has also sold Predator MQ 9B drones to Belgium, UAE, Taiwan, Morocco and other countries. India has placed the largest order of 31 drones equipped with all related equipment including sensors and weapons. Officials said that the Indian Navy has been using two MQ 9B drones since 2020. These were taken on lease.
Deal done on PM Modi’s US tour
India and the US sealed the drone deal during Prime Minister Modi’s recent visit to the US, which is being seen as part of his efforts to make India a drone manufacturing hub. These high-altitude and long-endurance drones are capable of staying in the air for more than 35 hours and can carry four Hellfire missiles and about 450 kg of warhead.
(also input from PTI)
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