US - INDIA Arms Deal

The US Congress was informed today by the Biden Administration of its intention to sell weapons valued at around $4 billion, primarily Hellfire missile-equipped MQ 9 B drones.
In a press release on Thursday, the US Department of Defense agency Defence Security Cooperation Agency (/topic/defence-security-cooperation-agency) stated that the transaction contributes to the strengthening of the strategic relationship between the US and India.

At an estimated cost of $3.99 billion, the US State Department (/topic/us-state-department) has decided to approve a potential Foreign Military Sale of MQ-9B (/topic/mq-9b) Remotely Piloted Aircraft (/topic/remotelypiloted-aircraft) and related equipment to the Government of India. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (/topic/defence-security-cooperation-agency) released a statement saying, "Today, the Agency delivered the necessary certification informing Congress of this potential sale."

The statement claims that the Indian government has asked to purchase 31 Sky Guardian MQ-9B (/topic/mq-9b) aircraft; sixteen M36E9 Hellfire Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM), sixteen AGM-114R Hellfire missiles, sixteen GBU-39B/B Laser Small Diameter Bombs (LSDB), eight GBU-39B/B LSDB Guided Test Vehicles (GTVs), and sixteen embedded Global Positioning and Inertial Navigation Systems (EGIs).

Additionally, it stated that India has shown a commitment to modernizing its military and will have no trouble integrating these goods and services into its armed forces. This will increase India's ability to meet "current and future threats" by enabling unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance patrols in sea lanes of operation.