New Delhi: India’s Ministry of Defence is set to proceed with a deal to acquire MQ-9 Reaper-armed drones from the United States, according to officials. The decision will be finalised during a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, scheduled to take place today in New Delhi. According to the defence officials, other ‘made in India’ defence deals are also on the agenda of the meeting.
This comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States. Initially, there were plans to reduce the number of drones to be acquired from 30 to 18 or less. However, now India is expected to go ahead with the original plan of acquiring 30 drones, the defence sources said.
The Indian Navy is the lead service for the acquisition of these drones and has been pursuing the case thoroughly. The three services also have plans to procure similar types of medium-altitude and long-endurance drones from indigenous sources.
Comments