US Senators push for sale of guardian drones to India

[ashok321]

US Senators push for sale of guardian drones to India

A top US Senator has strongly pushed for selling the state-of-the-art guardian drones to India which "is going to be the next great thing of defence collaboration" between both countries.

Democrat Senator Mark Warner and his Republican colleague in the Senate Dan Sullivan, during a programme here asserted that the erstwhile Obama Administration and the US Congress designating India as a major defence partner is a significant step forward in taking the India-US relationship to the next level.

While the two lawmakers were strong on India-US co-operation in Asia Pacific region, in particular South China Sea, both appeared to be quite soft to when it came to India's interest with regard to terrorist safe havens in Pakistan which has been responsible for a number of terrorist attacks from across the border.

Senator Sullivan argued the case for joint military operation by India and the US in areas of common interest.

India, notably has shown reluctance to such a proposal from the US so far.

Warner, who is Co-Chair of the Senate India caucus and Ranking member of powerful Senate Select Committee on Intelligence expressed his displeasure of the bureaucracy from the US State Department and Department of Defense in selling the guardian drones to India.

India had requested for purchase of significant number of guardian drones for maritime surveillance, especially in the Indian Ocean.

"I have been frustrated with the Defence and State Department in terms of the sale of guardian drones. This is going to be the next great thing of defence collaboration," Warner said, as he expressed his disappointment over what he said India's inability to absorb the requirement of 30 per cent offset.

"Major Defence Partnership" which he said moves India into the category of non-NATO type ally, "is a great step in the right direction."

"Actually this (Major Defence Partner) status that is unique to India. The idea is to actually institutionalise (the relationship)," Sullivan said in his remarks at the Widrow Wilson Center, a top American think-tank.

Responding to a question on Pakistan, Warner said while India and the US have a very strong relationship between the intelligence community, there is enormous concern not only about Pakistan's role in unrest in Kashmir, but also the terrorist organisations from Pakistan.

Warner said that it is in the best interest of Pakistan not to differentiate between different groups of terrorists.

Praising India's patience, Warner said India today has risen to a place where it sees itself as a major international partner. "I want to send a strong message that Pakistani can't play" both ways, supporting one group of terrorists one hand and taking action against the others," he said.

Sullivan said there is always an area of common interest with India.

"I believe we can have strong relationship with both countries particularly in the area of international terrorism," he said.

 

[ashok321]

India keen on combat drones in the long run
Source>>

NEW DELHI: India's quest for advanced surveillance drones to keep a hawk-eye on the Indian Ocean Region will now be met through the proposed acquisition of Predator naval drones from the US. But what it really wants is combat drones or unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) in the long run.

Akin to fighter jets but remotely controlled through satellites from thousands of miles away, combat drones are capable of firing missiles and precision-guided munitions on enemy targets before returning to their home bases to re-arm for the next mission.

Their game-changing impact on modern-day warfare can be gauged from the way the US has been extensively using Predator and Reaper armed drones to fire deadly `Hellfire' missiles against Taliban targets in the Af-Pak region with devastating effect.

But India, as of now, is in talks with the US for only unarmed Predator or MQ-9B Guardian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are high-altitude, long-endurance drones capable of flying non-stop for over 27 hours for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. This, too, became possible only after India joined the 34-member Missile Technology Control Regime, which prevents proliferation of missiles and UAVs over the range of 300-km, in June 2016.

Ahead of PM Narendra Modi's ongoing trip to Washington, the Trump administration had cleared the sale of 22 MQ-9B Guardian drones manufactured by General Atomics to India, in what will eventually be a government-to-government deal after the US Congress is first notified and long-drawn bilateral negotiations are then held.

Though figures upwards of $2 billion for the 22 drones, with their associated spares, maintenance and training package, are already being quoted, Indian government sources say the actual procurement process is yet to begin.
"The US has just responded to our 'price and availability inquiry'. It's early days yet," said a source. While India is slated to become the first country outside the NATO alliance to get these drones, Washington is so far unwilling to sell actual combat or armed drones to New Delhi because it believes the move will disrupt the military balance in the region.

India, however, is on course to acquire 10 Heron-TP missile-armed drones for around $400 million from Israel, even as PM Modi is scheduled to visit the Jewish state early next month, as was earlier reported by TOI.

The IAF already has Israeli Harop "killer" drones, which basically act as cruise missiles to first detect and then destroy specific enemy targets and radars by exploding into them in kamikaze fashion. Some of the existing Indian fleet of Israeli Heron and Searcher-II UAVs have also been upgraded with "add-ons" to ensure they can undertake a combat mission over and above their current surveillance and precision-targeting roles.

The DRDO-Aeronautical Development Agency combine has also launched the Rs 2,650 crore "Ghatak" project to develop an Indian Unmanned Strike Air Vehicle, with the government approving an initial Rs 231 crore for its design and development of critical advanced technologies in May 2016.

But it will take well over a decade for the Ghatak UCAV, which will weigh less than a fighter jet since it will be "more of a flying-wing in design", to take to the skies. The IAF, incidentally, has proposed the creation of a separate cadre to handle UAVs, apart from the flying, technical and ground duty branches, in the future.