India’s Agreement to Buy 31 Armed Drones From The United States
- India has signed an important agreement to purchase 31 armed drones from the United States (US).
- This is highly expected to powerfully and significantly enhance India’s surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence capabilities.
- United States (US) wants to stop India from buying Russian military equipment.
India’s defense ministry said it had signed an important agreement with the United States (US) State Department on Tuesday to purchase 31 armed drone such as MQ-9B SkyGuardian and HALE drones.
SkyGuardian can be configured to conduct a number of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations, current and future military operations including but not limited to,
- Humanitarian Assistance / Disaster Relief
- Search and Rescue
- Law Enforcement
- Border Enforcement
- Defensive Counter Air
- Airborne Early Warning
- Electronic Warfare
- Anti Surface Warfare
- Anti Submarine Warfare
- Airborne Mine Counter Measures
- Long Range Strategic ISR
- Over the Horizon Targeting
Negotiations for this agreement began in around 2018. This is expected to powerfully and significantly enhance India’s surveillance and intelligence capabilities.
It is also in line with the United States (US) effort to prevent India from buying Russian military equipment and to counter China’s growing dominance.
India’s top defense ministry approved the purchase just before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official visit to Washington D.C. last year, while the Pentagon approved it in February.
Reuters reported last year that Indian drones would be used mostly in the Indian Ocean region by the Navy. India’s two long time rivals, China and Pakistan, have sophisticated air defense systems that can limit India’s use of drones over its land borders.
This information is based on reports from ( Reuters ).
