MQ-9B drones will provide India with enhanced maritime security: US

Washington: The sale of General Atomics MQ9-B armed drones would provide India with an enhanced maritime security and domain awareness capability, the United States has said.

Last week, the State Department informed the State Department of its decision to authorise the sale of 31 MQ-9B armed drones at an estimated cost of USD 3.99 billion.

The projected mega drone agreement was revealed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic state visit here in June 2023.

“This sale, we believe, will provide India with an enhanced maritime security and maritime domain awareness capability,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters at his daily news conference.

“It offers India outright ownership of these aircraft, and this is something that we’ll continue to deepen our cooperation with our Indian partners on,” Patel said.