US-India Drone Deal: Joe Biden Notifies Congress Of Proposed Drone Sale To India, Triggering A 30-day Review Period
The $3 billion deal, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden in June 2023, includes the sale of 31 MQ-9B UAVs, with 15 for the Indian Navy and eight each for the Indian Air Force and Indian Army.
The Joe Biden administration has formally notified the US Congress about the proposed sale of 31 MQ-9B High Altitude, Long Endurance (HALE) armed drones to India. This move follows a period of informal review, which raised concerns about the deal's fate. Congress now has a 30-day window to either approve the deal by taking no action or reject it through a congressional vote.
The notification was sent to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by the US State Department's Defense Security Cooperation Agency. Notably, there were reports of some lawmakers attempting to tie the clearance of the drone deal to India's cooperation with a US investigation into allegations against Indian businessman Nikhil Gupta, currently held in Czech custody on a US extradition request related to an alleged murder-for-hire plot against a Khalistani activist.
The $3 billion deal, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joe Biden in June 2023, includes the sale of 31 MQ-9B UAVs, with 15 for the Indian Navy and eight each for the Indian Air Force and Indian Army. This government-to-government deal is part of the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) process, requiring congressional approval within 30 days.
In the event of opposition, lawmakers could put a hold on the deal, seeking additional assurances from the Biden administration. This potential hold could be initiated by key committee members, including the Chair and ranking members of the House's Foreign Affairs Committee, the Armed Services Committee, and the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee and Armed Services Committee. Such a hold has the potential to significantly impact the deal, as seen in a past instance involving US subsidies for F-16 fighter jets for Pakistan in 2016, where a hold by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman led to the deal's failure. The clock is now ticking for Congress to make a decision on this significant defense transaction.
