America will give drones and missiles worth four billion dollars to India

The US State Department has approved the sale of drones and missiles to India for maritime security and surveillance amid concerns over China’s growing influence in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The potential deal is worth $4 billion (£3.14 billion).

The deal to supply 31 SkyGuardian drones and 170 Hellfire missiles, among other weapons, was announced during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic state visit to the White House in 2023.

The State Department’s approval means India has cleared a hurdle, but the deal needs to be ratified by Congress.

The major defense deal was put on hold by a US Senate committee pending an investigation into the involvement of an Indian government agent in an assassination plot on US soil.

Washington has been trying to get Delhi to promote cooperation with it in the US’s Indo-Pacific strategy. The main objective of this policy is to reduce China’s influence in the region.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency said on Thursday night that the State Department has approved a possible military contract with another country for the MQ9B remote piloted aircraft and related equipment for India at an estimated cost of $3.99 billion.

The U.S. State Department said in a statement that the agreement “helps protect U.S. foreign policy and national security interests by helping India promote political stability, peace, and economic development in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia regions.” will do.’

“This will improve India’s ability to counter current and future threats by conducting unmanned aerial surveillance and reconnaissance patrols along operational sea lanes,” the statement said.

The deal will include the sale of 31 MQ NineB Sky Guardians, 170 AGM 114R Hellfire Missiles and 130 Laser Small Diameter Bombs, 161 Embedded Global Positioning and Inertial Navigation System (EGI) and other communication and surveillance equipment. .

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller responded Thursday to media reports of a deal impeding the assassination plot investigation, saying Congress “played a significant role in the process of US arms sales.”

He said: ‘We regularly consult with members of Congress on foreign affairs committees before our formal notification so that we can answer their questions but I cannot comment on whether this formal notification When will it be?

Federal prosecutors at the Department of Justice accused Indian government agents of plotting the assassination of Sikh-American Gurptunt Singh Pannu, a designated terrorist in India and a supporter of the independent Sikh state of Khalistan.

The Indian government says it is taking Washington’s allegations ‘seriously’ and has set up a high-level inquiry committee to investigate. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs says that it is also against the government policy.

According to the Reuters news agency, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Democratic Senator Ben Corden, said that he had lost his “grip” on the deal because the administration of President Joe Biden was killed by India on American soil. A full planning investigation has been agreed.

“The (Biden) administration has demanded that there be an investigation and accountability for the conspiracy in the United States and accountability in India for such activities,” Corden told reporters.