Aaron Mehta
WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department is in the final stages of clearing the sale of 22 MQ-9 drones to India, with an expectation that U.S. President Donald Trump will announce the sale during the upcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi, who will meet with Trump for the first time on June 26, is expected to discuss a wide range of topics, including terrorism and visas, but is poised to walk away with an offer to purchase the unarmed MQ-9B Guardian design produced by General Atomics.
The Guardian design is a variant of the Predator B drone, equipped with several radar systems specifically useful for maritime searches.
“We are pleased that the U.S. government has cleared the way for the sale of the MQ-9B Guardian to the Indian Government,” said Linden Blue, CEO of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, in a statement to Defense News. “Guardian provides the endurance and capability required to significantly enhance India’s sovereign maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is standing by to support the US and Indian Governments throughout this process”
Defense NewsSenators press Mattis, Tillerson on India defense dealsIt is unclear how much the sale will be worth, nor what offsets were being offered to India. Modi’s Make in India initiative has emphasized production on the ground in India be part of weapon procurement from foreign suppliers. However, GA estimates the sale will create around 5,000 jobs in the U.S. through its supply chain.
An industry source confirmed that General Atomics has been told the sale is being approved. A spokesman for the U.S. State Department declined to comment.
But offering sales to New Delhi and getting them concluded are two very different things, with the Indian government notorious among defense circles for dragging out negotiations before cancelling them outright.
“If you can get something done over a 10 year process with India, you are above average,” said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with the Teal Group.
And any foreign weapons sale needs to go through a series of checks. Once State gives its final OK, the Senate will have a chance to weigh in before final negotiations begin, a period when proposed sales often change due to budget or strategic shifts, which is to say, an offer of 22 MQ-9s may still result in a sale of fewer systems.
Still, analysts seem heartened by the idea that the U.S. will finally move to sell India such systems after years of hesitancy.
Letting India have the drones is a no-brainer move for American interests, said Michael Horowitz, a former Pentagon official and unmanned expert now with the University of Pennsylvania.
“The United States should be able to export advanced drones to India, an important strategic partner,” Horowitz said. “If the U.S. is not willing to export, others will. We know this because India has already purchased 10 armed Heron TP drones from Israel.”
Bharath Gopalaswamy,the director of the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center, added that the U.S. should take a step further and sell India armed drones to bolster shared interests in combating terrorism.
“The United States should also pursue the sale of lethal drones, which are capable of precision strikes against non-state groups operating on the border,” Gopalaswamy wrote in a June 22 commentary. “Such an agreement will offer domestic economic benefits, spur job creation in the United States, and help to advance U.S. counterterrorism objectives in turn.”
No comments:
Post a Comment