India set to seal $3 billion Predator drone deal with US by current fiscal

Indiaissettofinalise a long-conceived proposaltoprocure 30 multi-mission armedPredatordrones from theUSfor the three services at an estimated cost of over $3billion(around Rs 22,000 crore), official sources said on Tuesday.

The proposaltoacquire the MQ-9B long-endurancedrones, armedwithair-to-ground missiles, is likelytobe clearedbythe Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) in the next few weeks following which it will be placed before the PM-led Cabinet Committee on Security, they said.

The sources said various key aspects of the procurement including the cost component and weapons package have already been finalised and the mega-dealissettobesealedwiththeUSbythecurrentfiscal.

Vice Chief ofIndiaNavy Vice Admiral said the proposal will be placed before the DAC in a "short while".

"The whole effort of the procurement process is that we take a very balanced decision and therefore inputs of all stakeholders are taken. The process is on and we have progressed quite a bit on this process. This will movetoDAC in a short while," hetold reporters at an event.

The procurement proposal has been movedbytheIndian Navy and all three services are likelytoget 10drones each.

The remotely piloteddrones, manufacturedbyUSdefence major General Atomics, are capable of remaining airborne for around 35 hours and can be deployed on a range of missions including surveillance, reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and destroying enemy targets.

The medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE)Predator-Bdroneis the first hunter-killer UAV designed for long-endurance and high-altitude surveillance.

Indian armed forces have been focusing on procuring unmanned platforms including armeddrones following the eastern Ladakh standoffwithChina and adronestrike on the Jammu airbase.

Explosives-ladendrones wereusedtocarry out the attack on the Jammu Air Force station in June in the first such instance of suspected Pakistan-based terrorists deploying unmanned aerial vehiclestostrike at vital military installations inIndia.

In 2019, theUSapproved the sale of armeddronestoIndiaand even offered integrated air and missile defence systems.

TheIndian Navy has been strongly pushing for the procurementtoboost its overall surveillance over theIndian Ocean, a region that has witnessed increasing foraysbyChinese ships and submarines in the last few years.

Last year, theIndian Navy received twoPredatordrones on lease from theUS, primarily for surveillance over theIndian Ocean.

The two non-weaponised MQ-9Bdrones were leased for one yearwiththe option of extending the periodbyanother year.

In February last year,Indiasealed a $2.6billiondealwiththeUSfor procurement of 24 MH-60 Romeo helicopters from American aerospace major Lockheed Martin for theIndian Navy. The delivery of the helicopters has already begun.