Defence Ministry to take up deal for acquiring MQ-9 Reaper armed drones from US

New Delhi [India], June 15 : India is all set to finalise a deal for acquiring MQ-9 Reaper armed drones from the US in a Defence Acquisition Council meeting (DAC) to be held today in the national capital, said Defence officials.

A meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will begin today at around 10:00 am.

According to Defence officials, other 'Made in India' defence deals are also on the agenda of the meeting.

Top Defence Ministry and military brass to attend the meeting. Other 'Made in India' defence deals are also on the agenda of the meeting.

This comes ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States.

Earlier the plan was to rationalise the acquisition of these drones and reduce their numbers from 30 to 18 or less, defence sources toldhere.

However, now India is expected to go ahead with the original plan of acquisition of 30 drones, the sources said.

The Indian Navy is the lead service for the acquisition of these drones and has been pursuing the case thoroughly.

The three services also have plans of going in for similar types of medium altitude and long endurance drones from indigenous sources.

Meanwhile, PM Modi is scheduled to visit the US from June 21 to 24, where US President Joe Biden will host him at the White House. This will be PM Modi's first state visit to the US during his nine-year reign as prime minister.

PM Narendra Modi during his visit will also become the first Indian PM to address the Joint Meeting of the US Congress for the second time. Indian Americans said the invitation sent to Prime Minister to address the US Congress serves as a reminder of the historic significance of the relationship between the US and India, reflecting the shared dream and commitment to global peace and prosperity, especially in the Indo-Pacific region.

Earlier in March, in a big push towards 'Make-in-India' in the defence sector, Defence Ministry approved proposals worth Rs 70,500 crore for buying different weapon systems for the Indian defence forces.

The DAC meeting was headed by Defence Minsiter Rajnath Singh.

The DAC has given approval for proposals to buy 60 Made-in-India Utility Helicopters (Maritime) and BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles for Indian Navy, 307 Advanced Towed Artillery Gun Systems (ATAGS) howitzers for Indian Army and 9 ALH Dhruv choppers for Indian Coast Guard, officials said.

A Defence Ministry release said that to keep pace with the emerging technologies and counter the adversaries in the Western and Northern front, the necessity of the new weapons and its integration with the delivery platforms was felt by the Government.

To achieve the same objectives, the DAC accorded the approval to Indian Air Force's proposal for Long Range Stand-Off Weapon (LRSOW) which will be indigenously designed, developed and integrated on SU-30 MKI aircraft.

The deal of buying 60 Utility Helicopter (Maritime) choppers amounts to Rs 32,000 crore. The helicopters are designed to meet the warship requirements of the force.

In January this year, DAC cleared three capital acquisition proposals amounting to Rs 4,276 crore for buying indigenous Helina anti-tank missiles and air defence systems to be developed for taking down enemy aircraft.

In December last year, the DAC accorded the approval for Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for 24 Capital Acquisition Proposals.