Centre denies speculations, claiming price of US drones not determined yet

New Delhi, June 25 (HS): The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said on Sunday that the cost of 31 MQ-9B drones to be purchased from the United States has yet to be determined. Only after comparing the "best price" supplied by other nations will the pricing of these drones be determined. The Defence Ministry will compare procurement costs to the best price provided to other countries by General Atomics, an American defence business. The procurement is now underway and will be completed in accordance with the established protocol.

"The purchase price and other terms have yet to be finalised and are subject to negotiation. In this respect, everyone is asked not to propagate fake news or disinformation, which can have a negative influence on the Armed Forces' morale and the acquisition process," it said.

A Letter of Request (LOR) would be addressed to the US Government, including the Tri-services needs, equipment specs, and procurement conditions. Based on the LOR, the US Government and MoD will finalise the Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA), in which the details of equipment and procurement terms will be negotiated and finalised in accordance with the FMS program and the price and terms offered by the US Government and GA to other countries. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile visit to Washington, India and the United States finalised the drone pact. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) granted the purchase the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the acquisition of 31 MQ-9B long endurance drones on June 15. There are 16 Sky Guardian and 15 Sea Guardian long endurance drones from the United States among them. According to the US government, the projected cost is $3,072 million USD. It stated that after policy permission from the US government is secured, the pricing will be negotiated.

Hindusthan Samachar/Abhishek Awasthi