Why India is getting US predator drones at lower price than other nations? A senior government official stated on Thursday that the average estimated cost of MQ-9B long endurance drones provided by the US to India is 27% lower than the price incurred by other countries and that Indian representatives will seek to cut it further during negotiations.
He also stated unequivocally that negotiations on pricing have not yet commenced and expressed confidence that the final price will be competitive in comparison to the prices faced by other countries. He stated that costs may only be raised if India requests new features.
Why India is getting US predator drones at lower price than other nations?
The Defence Acquisition Council’s June 15 “acceptance of necessity” for the proposed acquisition of 31 of these drones was the most recent formal development. He emphasized that the pricing issue is unrelated to this.
The cost of the drones given by the US government is estimated to be $3,072 million.
This works out to $99 million for each drone, he claimed, adding that the UAE, one of the few countries using them, paid USD 161 million per piece. According to him, the MQ-9B India is trying to acquire is comparable to the UAE’s but has a better configuration.
Sixteen of these drones purchased by the UK cost $69 million each but it was only a “green aircraft” without sensors, weapons, and certification. Features like censors, weapons and payloads make up for 60-70 percent of the total cost, he said, adding that even the US acquired five of them at USD 119 million each.
Must read: Yemen can return every attack with dozens of missiles, drones: Saree
The price for India is working out to be less than others due to the magnitude of the transaction and the fact that the manufacturer may have returned a large portion of its initial investment from previous sales, he added on the condition of anonymity.
He did, however, caution that India might need to integrate some of its own radars and missiles with these drones, which could result in a price increase.
The comments come a day after Congress sought complete openness in the multibillion-dollar India-US drone agreement, alleging that the 31 MQ-9B predator drones were purchased at a higher cost.
According to sources, such a statement could have been uttered out of “ignorance.”
In response to claims that the Air Force had raised concerns about the drones, they stated that all three wings of the defence forces, including the Army and Navy, had presented their arguments during talks and endorsed their acquisition.
According to them, India is aiming for 15-20% technological know-how transfer, with important components and subsystems like engines, radar processor units, avionics, sensors, and software being made and sourced in the country.
Once both governments have given their final approval to the contract, India plans to buy 11 of these drones off-the-shelf to suit its immediate needs, with the rest being constructed in the country, they said.
They said that there may be attempts to “scuttle” the purchase by spreading fake news and propaganda because the advanced weapons are bound to provoke fear and anxiety among India’s adversaries.
These powerful drones will aid India in successfully surveilling its adversaries. “It will greatly reduce the possibility of our enemies surprising us,” one of them claimed.
They claim that these drones will enable India’s military forces to monitor the country’s land and sea borders more effectively.
They claimed that because the agreement is between the Indian and US governments, it will be transparent and equitable.
The drone agreement was finalized during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s high-profile visit to Washington, as part of his efforts to make India a powerhouse for drone manufacturing.
The high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) drones can stay airborne for more than 35 hours and carry four Hellfire missiles and around 450 kg of bombs.
The Indian Navy leased two MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones from General Atomics for a year in 2020 for surveillance in the Indian Ocean. Following that, the lease time was extended.
