New Delhi, which has been eyeing the MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) for the Indian Navy, is now at the "advanced stage" of talks with Washington DC for the procurement of 30 of these Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The RPA's maker– General Atomics, offers the MQ-9B in two variants: the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian. The government to-government purchase, estimated to be worth $3 billion, is likely to bolster India's surveillance capabilities along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
The deal has long evaded finalisation. A highly placed source from the United States, knowledgeable about the developments surrounding the deal, told this writer that the problem with that sale has always been (and continues to be) some rather fierce opposition in the US Senate. It is possible that that could change, but the opponents are not keen on selling drones that can carry outside North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)+5 ((Israel, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and South Korea).
The Arms Export Control Act effectively gives the Senate Foreign Relations Committee veto power over any arms deal. The committee has been violently opposed to armed Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) sales.
The source mentioned that the committee made an exception for NATO+5. However, that was supposed to be the only one. It is interesting to note that the State Department and the Department of Defense (DOD) approved sales of MQ-9Bs to India and the United Arab Emirates. Those deals still require approval by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and the course of action the committee will take remains unclear.
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