India keen to acquire US 'predator' armed drones after entry into the MTCR

NEW DELHI: India is likely to make a renewed pitch to acquire armed drones from the US during defence minister Manohar Parrikar’s visit to Washington next week to meet a requirement of the air force for a stealth cross border strike option.

These are the very drones the US deploys frequently on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Any such acquisition, sources said, will bolster India’s offensive options along some of its porous borders. While in the past, Washington has shied away from offering its armed Predator drones that have considerable combat experience in Afghanistan and Pakistan, India is hoping that its entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in June would make a difference.

ET has learnt that an earlier attempt by India to acquire the drones could not proceed as the US referred to international regulations that made it impossible to export the armed Predator. An unarmed, reconnaissance version of the Predator is already on offer for an Indian Navy requirement.

However, a tough road will lie ahead on acquiring the cutting edge armed drones from the US, including India’s current reluctance to sign two military pacts – the Communication Interoperability and Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) – that Washington considers essential.

India will, however, sign the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) on sharing of military logistics during Parrikar’s visit, sources have told ET.

The Indian defence ministry made a renewed bid to acquire armed drones in September 2015 under a project codenamed `Cheetah’, a four year gap after the UPA government stalled the project. Sources told ET that the armed drone project also came up for discussion at a high level defence acquisition meeting in June.

While a $ 400 million proposal for acquiring armed Heron TP drones from Israel was given a quiet go ahead in 2015, the deal has not been inked as India has been considering the option to purchase US made Predator armed drones with its recent entry into MTCR.

India already operates a fleet of unarmed Heron and Searcher UAVs for surveillance and intelligence gathering. It also has a fleet of Harpy UAVs from Israel, which are self-destructing systems primarily tasked with taking out enemy radar positions.

While India is pursuing an indigenous drone programme with the Rustom 2 that is being developed by the DRDO, the project is several years away from weaponised induction.