Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington is likely to witness the Biden Government pushing India to complete a drone deal.
India has expressed interest in purchasing large, armed drones from the United States. Talks about the purchase have been ongoing for years. However, Indian red tape and bureaucracy have slowed down the deal.
The country is likely to buy 30 high-end predator drones for the Army, Air Force, and Navy at a cost of INR 24,000 crores, or USD 2 billion. The drones will be used on India’s line of control for surveillance. The deal was first announced in 2017 but seems to be nearing completion now.
The U.S. will have asked Modi Government to show progress regarding the deal. Biden and Modi will likely discuss and finalise the deal during next week’s visit. It is believed Indian administration will end up buying 18 weaponised General Atomics Aeronautical Systems unmanned aerial vehicles from the U.S. for an anticipated cost of USD 1.5 billion.
Biden Modi Meeting Agenda
Modi’s meeting with Biden on June 22nd will also likely see the lifting of restrictions that have been hindering trade between the two countries. Trade here is not just in terms of defense but also for space, artificial intelligence, advanced technology, telecommunications, and quantum computing.
Earlier in May 2023, Dovol and Sullivan led the U.S. India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology in Tokyo, Japan. The initiative has been set in place to promote collaboration between the countries regarding important matters like quantum computing, artificial intelligence, space etc.
The Biden administration will launch these initiatives, as India has made it clear in the past that it has had to rely on Russia as Western nations have denied it access to advanced technologies. This was the argument the Indian government used when it was questioned about why it was not rebuking Russia’s moves on Ukraine.
Also on the agenda of the meeting is to start the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the two countries on semi-conductors, industry, and academic cooperation on 5G, 6G, and RAN. All projects and purchases will be made under this MoU.
Reports also state that there could be an announcement regarding the joint manufacture and production of combat aircraft engines, howitzers, and combat vehicles. All of these points were discussed in the 17th meeting of the U.S. India Defence Policy Group.
India-U.S. relations a strategic move
The United States has been deepening its ties with India in a bid to counter the growing power of China. For this reason, the focus of the discussions between the countries has been on military technologies, even though there is no formal security alliance.
India’s stance of non-involvement in any conflict has frustrated the U.S., as it has still maintained its relations with Russia amid its much criticized war with Ukraine. The eastern and western country’s strategic alliance will hopefully prove to be a move against that.
