India to negotiate deal with US for 31 drones: Officials
Under India’s defence procurement rules, the AoN by the council is the first step towards buying military hardware.
India will negotiate a competitive deal with the US for 31 MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) to boost the Indian military’s strength, it will involve transfer of critical technologies, help bridge the technological gaps faced by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in developing such systems indigenously, and the number of drones to be bought is based on the operational requirements of the armed forces, senior officials aware of the matter said on Thursday.
The acquisition process, under the foreign military sales (FMS) programme --- Washington’s government-to-government method of selling US-built platforms, will be transparent, said one of the officials cited above asking not to be named.
The officials mounted a spirited defence of the highly anticipated deal for the drones in the backdrop of the Congress party attempting to corner the government by raising questions related to pricing, the acquisition procedure, technology transfer, the numbers sought to be bought and how self-reliance in defence was being pursued.
To be sure, India’s defence acquisitions council (DAC) --- the country’s apex weapons procurement body, has only accorded its acceptance of necessity (AoN) to buy the 31 MQ-9B General Atomics high altitude long endurance (HALE) drones. Under India’s defence procurement rules, the AoN by the council is the first step towards buying military hardware.
The deal is still a long way off.
“Negotiations are yet to begin. There are many next steps in the FMS process. The price and terms of the contract will be finalised towards the end of the process. We will negotiate a competitive deal,” said a second official. On June 15, the DAC gave the clearance for buying the drones in the run-up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US. Fifteen UAVs will be for the navy, and eight each for the army and the Indian Air Force.
The officials explained the FMS process.
India will issue a letter of request (LOR) to the US government in early July mentioning the tri-services requirements, details of equipment and terms of the procurement. The US will respond with a letter of acceptance (LOA) after which India will begin negotiations with the US, duly factoring in the price and terms offered by Washington to other countries.
“The contract negotiation committee will then finalise the terms of agreement. It will have to be approved by the PM-headed Cabinet Committee on Security. That’s when we will know the actual price and contract terms,” said a third official, who also asked not to be named.
To be sure, US firm General Atomics has offered the 31 drones to India for $3.07 billion. This, however, is subject to negotiations, he said. The estimated cost of the drones includes weapons, sensors, ground control stations, ground data terminals, ground handling equipment, spares and logistics support, HT has learnt.
Even the current price offered by the US is better than what other countries are paying for the MQ-9Bs in different configurations, the officials said, citing data from the US government’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA). The current estimated cost for India is ₹812 crore per RPAS, while average cost for other countries that have ordered MQ-9Bs works out to around ₹1,275 crore, said one of the officials.
According to DCSA data, the total estimated programme cost for four MQ-9Bs for Belgium and Taiwan is $600 million each. This works out to $150 million per drone. The cost stands at $2.97 billion for 18 RPAS for the United Arab Emirates, which works out to $165 million for each drone. At $3.07 billion, the cost in India’s case is around $99 million per drone.
India will also negotiate a higher element of technology transfer. It is looking at doubling the element of technology transfer that is currently on offer --- from 8-9% to 15% to 20%, the officials said. To be assembled in India, the versatile platform will have the capability to strike targets with its on-board weapons, it will be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR); and its other roles include electronic warfare, defensive counter air and airborne early warning.
The proposed deal found mention in the June 22 joint statement issued by the US and India during Modi’s first state visit to the US. It said General Atomics will establish a comprehensive global MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility in India to support the country’s long-term goals to boost indigenous defence capabilities.
Ten drones are likely to bought off the shelf while the remaining 21 will be assembled in India, the officials said.
The number of drones to be bought has been arrived at based on a scientific study factoring in the requirements of the three services and taking into consideration the vast expanse of India’s land and maritime borders, the officials said.
The proposed deal is not against the spirit of Atmanirbhar Bharat as India currently does not have any drone in the HALE category, the officials said. The Tapas drone being developed by the DRDO will not have the same capability as it is in the medium altitude long endurance (MALE) category, they said.
“The two platforms are different in weight, endurance, speed, altitude ceiling and payload carrying capability,” said the third official.
The deal for the MQ-9Bs will help establish India as a hub for manufacturing drones, said another official.
The Indian Navy currently operates a pair of unarmed MQ-9B drones leased from the US three years ago to boost its ISR capabilities. The drones have helped the navy keep a close watch on the Indian Ocean at a time when it has stepped up surveillance in the region to check China’s ambitions.
The drones have also been used for intelligence collection along the country’s northern borders where India has been locked in a border row with China for more than three years, a tense period that has seen a significant military build-up on both sides of the contested Line of Actual Control.
The acquisition of armed drones gained urgency after the military standoff with China in the Ladakh sector began in May 2020, increasing the Indian military’s need to enhance its vigil along the disputed border and stay prepared for any contingency.
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