Biden has publicly disclosed sensitive details about a possible drone to New Delhi, drawing interest from his hostile neighbors.
Indian Army Commander-in-Chief General Manoj Pande concluded a four-day visit to the United States on Friday. During his visit, he held high-level talks with his U.S. counterpart, General Randy George, and other senior military leaders, visited the headquarters of the First Army Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and heard about U.S. supplies to India for co-manufacturing"Stryker"Presentation of the situation (infantry fighting vehicles).
However, there is a big question that hangs in the air. In MQ-9B"Sky Guardian"After the drone deal has become high-profile and now well-known, many in India's defense community are questioning New Delhi's willingness to participate in another arms deal.
The U.S. announced earlier this month that it had notified Congress of a possible request to India**"Predators"One of the models of the UAV - MQ-9B"Sky Guardian"Drones, estimated to be worth about 39$900 million. The jury is still out on whether General Pande has raised the MQ-9B issue with India's American partners, as the final statements of the parties have not yet been published.
The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement on Feb. 1 that it had approved a possible deal that would include 31 MQ-9Bs to India"Sky Guardian"Drones and other** and electronic equipment, spare parts and accessories. There was an uproar in the Indian public sphere. In fact, the South Asian nation will finally get its hands on the world's most lethal combat drones, which were deployed in the war in Afghanistan and used against ISIS and al-Qaeda's top leadership.
According to the Pentagon,"The proposed sale will increase India's ability to respond to current and future threats, allowing it to conduct unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance patrols in the sea operation corridor"。
However, according to sources familiar with the situation, the authorities of India's defense and security agencies were shocked by this official statement. This is mainly because the statement not only discloses which missiles, bombs, radars and other related military equipment are part of the MQ-9B deal, but also the exact amount that will be delivered.
According to the US statement, the entire MQ-9BRPA deal includes 31 MQ-9Bs"Sky Guardian"airplanes, 170 pieces"Hellfire"missiles, 310 laser small-diameter bombs, 161 embedded GPS and inertial navigation systems, and other related equipment. In addition to radars, ** devices, IFF (identification foe or foe), radio equipment and terminals, the number of 16 training missiles and 8 laser bombs was mentioned.
It has been noted that U.S. arms sales announcements do generally contain these details, but this is not the case for every defense deal. In terms of disclosing ** and information on military equipment, the United States takes a kind of"Pick and choose"policy, depending on its relationship with the country in question. This kind of the United States"Double standards"Keeping Uncle Sam away from India for a long time, on the one hand reaching out to build a strong relationship, on the other hand, snubbing India soon after.
To be sure, this is not the first time India has been snubbed by the United States. After the war with Pakistan in 1965, the United States stopped all *** against India, and this *** began shortly after the defeat in the war with China in '62. That was the time when India turned to the Soviet Union for its defense needs.
The announcement of the drone deal with Washington comes amid reports that the United States may put the deal on hold because of diplomatic issues involving pro-Haristan movement activist Gulpatvante Singh Pannon. The pro-Haristan movement is active in Canada and the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom and several other countries with large Sikh populations. New Delhi has repeatedly expressed concern to its partners in the West because they enjoy in Western countries despite the activists being accused of threatening Indian public figures, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi"Free"。
Last year, Canada's Prime Minister will"India**"Linked to the murder of prominent Sikh separatist Hadeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June this year has sparked a diplomatic rift, particularly between Ottawa and New Delhi. Two months later, an indictment in a U.S. court alleges that an Indian *** was involved in an assassination attempt against Pennon, but was thwarted by the FBI. New Delhi refutes Trudeau's allegations"Ridiculous"、"Motivated"and asked Ottawa to provide evidence, while India** set up a high-level commission of inquiry into the Pannon affair.
The announcement of the 31 MQ-9BRPA came a day after reports of the aftermath of the case and was seen as a gesture to improve U.S.-India relations. Prior to this, the US **Joe Biden decided not even to attend India's Republic Day celebrations, failing to fulfill the invitation he received from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 leaders' summit last September.
Biden did not show up in Delhi, although his own diplomat had previously announced that he would be present at the celebration and the quad group meeting scheduled for around January 26. Tensions are partly due to concerns about Pennon's alleged conspiracy charges. The US side said that the reason for Biden's absence was the State of the Union address in March, and the quad meeting was postponed at the request of the US side.
What really matters is that India is in dire need of high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) drones, especially since its arch-rival and neighbor China has a strong fleet of armed drones and gives them to Africa and the Gulf states.
India does not currently deploy any combat drones. But it does have twenty-year-old Israeli drones for surveillance purposes. Recently, India procured four equipable **"Heron"Mark-2 UAV. Medium-altitude long-endurance (male) developed in India"Tapas"The (TAPAS) UAV is not yet fully ready, and the future of the project is uncertain. Since 2020, the Indian Navy has been using two MQ-9s leased from the American manufacturer General Atomics"Grim Reaper"Drone.
The crisis in the Middle East triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza shows that future wars, or wars of the present, will use unconventional and destructive technologies.
India is more concerned about unconventional warfare, as another neighboring country, Pakistan, has also procured combat drones, specifically Bayraktartb2, from its close ally Turkey. Pakistan is preparing to deploy these deadly drones in Lahore, near the Indian border, the report said. However, neither Pakistan nor Turkey has so far publicly revealed any details of the Bayraktar drone deal.
Although, as stated in the US statement, the proposal to India **MQ-9B will support its foreign policy and *** goals and contribute"Improve the security of a major defense partner", but this threatens to change the fundamental military balance in the region. While India has revealed its intention to buy drones, the discussion of public space revolves"Grim Reaper"The version of the MQ-9B UAV is deployed, which is often used for surveillance and reconnaissance. As the details of the combat drones that India may acquire are made public, India's strategic capabilities have also turned into weaknesses.
RT, February 17, 2024 - Niraj Rajput, defense journalist and writer in New Delhi.