'US state department issues Guardian drone export license for India'

WASHINGTON: The US state department has issued the necessary license for the export of 22 predator Guardian drones to India, a government source here said, days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump had their first bilateral meeting at the White House.

The state department has "issued the DSP-5 Guardian export license" for India, the source told PTI.

A DSP-5 category license is issued for permanent export of military hardware as found in the US Munitions List which is defined by the International Traffic Arms Regulations.

The Guardian drones will enhance India's maritime surveillance capabilities in the Indian Ocean region and their sale was announced by Trump on June 26 after he met Modi for their first face-to-face meeting.

The drones are estimated to cost around USD 2 billion and are being built by General Atomics, considered a pioneer in the unmanned aerial vehicles domain.

The speed with which the Trump administration decided on India's request for the drones, the source said, is reflective of the desire in White House to strengthen India's military capabilities in the Indo-Asia Pacific region, where China's aggressive diplomatic and military posture has unnerved other countries.

"We are extremely pleased that President Trump and Prime Minister Modi have had excellent deliberations and the path forward for a game-changer in US-India defence relations has been charted," said Vivek Lall of General Atomics.

Lall, who in his previous capacity at Boeing, was instrumental in the sale of high-tech military hardware to India, is believed to have played a role in convincing the Trump administration to accelerate the sale of the drones.