Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be on a five-day visit to the US starting August 21, reports said.
Singh is scheduled to meet US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon on August 23 to strengthen defense ties, they added.
This follows the Defense Acquisition Council’s (DAC) approval of the MQ-9B Predator drone deal and the Indian Navy’s collaboration with HawkEye 360 for the QUAD Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) initiative.
India is expediting negotiations with the US to acquire 31 weaponized MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft.
It’s being done to be on par with Chinese and Pakistan drone fleets.
Techno-commercial discussions for these long-endurance Predator drones are in an advanced stage now.
While the India-US deal on transfer of technology for GE-414 engines, which will power the Tejas Mark II, is going as per schedule, India is witnessing a delay in off-the-shelf supply of GE-404 engines that power the Tejas Mark IA fighter. India has taken up the issue with the US and the defense minister will only emphasize the urgent requirement.
According to a news report, 31 drones and associated equipment, including 170 Hellfire missiles, 310 GBU-39B precision guided glide bombs, navigation systems, sensor suites and mobile ground control systems, will cost $3.9 billion (over Rs 33,500 crore).
However, India is working to bring the costs down.
“The price and terms offered by the US govt and General Atomics to other countries are being considered. All efforts are under way to conclude the deal within this calendar year after the final nod from the cabinet committee on security,” a defense ministry insider was quoted as saying by the report.
These drones will be assembled in India. General Atomics will source some components from Indian companies and build a global MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul) facility here. The first 10 MQ-9B drones are expected to be inducted within a couple of years of the contract being inked.
