U.S. Marines load a boxed-up MQ-9 Reaper drone onto a cargo plane en route to the Middle East, in a photo released by Marine Corps Forces Central Command on Aug. 12, 2023. The U.S. approved the sale of nearly $4 billion in attack drones, Hellfire missiles and laser-guided bombs to India, as the Biden administration looks to chip away at the country’s long-time defense ties with Russia. (U.S. Marine Corps)
The U.S. approved the sale of nearly $4 billion in attack drones, Hellfire missiles and laser-guided bombs to India, as the Biden administration looks to chip away at the country’s long-time defense ties with Russia.
The deal will help India respond to “current and future threats by enabling unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance patrols in sea lanes of operation,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement Thursday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has deepened defense ties with the U.S. as it proceeds with a 10-year, $250 billion military modernization. Thursday’s announcement also amounts to a strategic victory for the U.S., which has been trying to wean India off its traditional arms relationship with Russia.
The deal, which has been in the works for at least three years, would add to India’s military capabilities as the drones it has now can only be used for surveillance and reconnaissance. The proposed sale also includes training munitions, navigational and communications equipment.
Under the terms of the deal, which has a maximum value of $3.99 billion, the U.S. would sell up to 31 MQ-9B Sky Guardian drones, up to 170 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles and 310 GBU-39B/B Laser Small Diameter Bombs, among other equipment.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, which manufactures the MQ-9B, will be the principal contractor. Lockheed Martin Corp. produces the Hellfire, while Boeing makes the GBU-39B/B Laser Small Diameter Bomb.
