Defence ministry approves predator drone deal with US

New Delhi: Ahead of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, the Ministry of Defence has approved the deal for acquiring the Predator (MQ-9 Reaper) drones from the U.S on June 15, 2023. The final approval for procurement will be taken by the cabinet committee on security (CCS).

As per the sources, "The Defence Acquisition Council gave approval to the deal for the Predator drones in a meeting held today." 

"The proposal will now have to follow a procedure after which it will have to be cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security," they added.

The DAC is the highest decision-making body in the Defence Ministry for deciding on new policies and capital acquisitions for the three services (Army, Navy and Air Force) and the Indian Coast Guard. The Minister of Defence is the Chairman of the Council. All high-value acquisitions are given final approval by the CCS. 

The drones under discussion is the MQ-9B SeaGuardian drone, and Indian Navy is the lead agency for the deal in which 15 drones will be going to the maritime force for surveillance operations in its area of responsibility. 

The three services also have plans of going in for the same type of medium altitude and long endurance drones from indigenous sources.

India has long expressed interest in buying large armed drones from the United States. The development on the deal comes after National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and his visiting American counterpart Jake Sullivan on Tuesday unveiled an ambitious roadmap for Indo-US collaboration in specific high-technology areas, including semiconductors, next-generation telecommunication, artificial intelligence and defence.

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