The development comes less than a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden held talks about the acquisition of the Predator drones on the sidelines of the Quad Leaders' Summit held in Delaware. 

New Delhi: India and the United States on Tuesday signed a Rs 32,000-crore deal for tri-service procurement of 31 MQ-9B Sky/Sea Guardian High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Remote Pilot Aircraft System (RPAS). The agreement, which also includes setting up a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility here, has been finalized under a government-to-government framework. It aims […]

India has signed a deal with the US to acquire 31 Predator drones, enhancing its defense, surveillance, and combat capabilities. The MQ-9B drones will strengthen India’s maritime and border security, marking a major step in India-US defense ties.

The procurement of the drones was finalised just weeks ahead of the US presidential elections.

India is acquiring the drones primarily to crank up the surveillance apparatus of the armed forces, especially along the contested frontier with China.

Deal follows talks that began in 2018, is expected to significantly increase India's surveillance and intelligence capabilities.