Trump administration has approved the sale of unmanned Surveillance drones to India.
It was confirmed on Friday by General Atomics that drones will be supplied to India in a deal worth $2Billion as the two nations' leaders prepare for their first face-to-face meeting.
“We are pleased that the U.S. government has cleared the way for the sale of the MQ-9B Guardian to the Indian government,” Linden Blue, CEO of the manufacturer, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, said in an official statement. Blue went further that it would “significantly enhance India’s sovereign maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific.”
India initiated its request to acquire 22 General Atomics Guardian MQ-9B unmanned aircraft for maritime surveillance since last year and this may be a symbol that the Trump administration want a close relationship with India as India’s Prime minister Narendra Modi is set to meet with President Donald Trump at White House on Monday.
Issue relating to trade, international border crisis especially in the South China Sea and other conflicting issues between the two states will be discussed.
The drones according to India authorities will be used for the surveillance of the Indian Ocean.
US Defense ties with India recently have intesified after China's move in the South China Sea. Both countries establishment of its first oversea military base in Djibouti further drew US military ties with India closer. Since 2008, India have signed more than $15 Billion in US defense Contracts including for C-17 and C-130J military transport aircraft, P-81 maritime patrol aircraft, Harpoon Missiles, and Apache and Chinook Helicopter.
The sales however is still subjected to congress approval and there could still be a pushback from congress as some lawmakers are still against the sales of weapons or arms with sophicated technologies to countries that are not close allies of the United State.
The visit of Modi to the white house is through official, but is on a lower key aimed at building a personal bond between the two leaders who have spoken twice by phone since trump was sworn in. This is the fourth time Modi is visiting the US since he took over office in 2014.
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