Is the US Overcharging India for Predator Drones?

A former Indian military veteran has raised questions about the reported price of 31 armed MQ-9B drones that New Delhi is planning to purchase from Washington.

The development came after media outlets reported that the Joe Biden administration has quoted a price of $3.07 billion for the drones.

Why the Criticism?

Lieutenant General (Retd.) Prakash Katoch has criticized the aforementioned price, given that Britain is allegedly paying way less than India for a single drone unit.

"What is in circulation is that the British Defense Ministry has already signed a contract for three drones which are costing $88 million. Now, if that is correct, they are getting it really cheap," Katoch told Sputnik on Monday.

What media reports are now saying is that the negotiations are still on, and India is going to get these drones 27 percent cheaper than what the other countries pay.

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"If that be the case, looking at the price the British have been offered, we should be getting a drone, say at $19 million. And, in three billion dollars we should be getting over 150 Sea Guardian drones," the ex-Indian Army officer added.

Katoch noted that with the Ukraine conflict, everybody wants more drones.

According to him, the interest in drones has escalated to another level following Russia's special operation against Kiev.

He elaborated that the UAVs grabbed the limelight when the Armenia-Azerbaijan war was on and when Yemen's Houthis hit the Saudi oil industry.

"But the Ukraine conflict has definitely brought in the requirement and everybody is trying to procure drones," Katoch summed up.

On the other hand, Major General (Retd.) P.K. Sehgal differed with Katoch over the Predator drones being overpriced for India even though the negotiations with the US were still on.

India Paying the Price For Technology Transfer

Sehgal opined that India is buying the Sea Guardian drones under a certain amount of transfer of technology, and it wants to create a hub for their maintenance, repair, and operations.

"And this cost is for the transfer of technology and allowing you to create a manufacturing hub within the country for maintenance and sustenance," he said in a conversation with Sputnik.

He emphasized that India is now going for lifetime deals for spares and it wants to procure them at current prices so that there is no annual inflation. Otherwise, every year there is at least 5-8 percent inflation that takes place.

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Sehgal also hit hard at India's main opposition party, the Congress, which has objected to the price of the drones.

"The Congress is fooling the nation by saying that the price is too high but it is not the case. On the contrary, the Defense Ministry is doing everything to ensure that if India's relations with the US deteriorate in the future, the drones will continue to operate without their assistance," Sehgal concluded.

Present Status of Sea Guardian Drones

The letter of intent from the Indian side featuring their requirements has been issued but the Americans have yet to issue a letter of intent from their side.

After the US accepts India's request, the Defense Ministry will look into all criticalities of the deal and they will also carry out price negotiations. Presently, the price tag doing the rounds is $3 billion.

In the next few days, India plans to send a request to purchase 31 Reaper drones under the US government's "foreign military sales program".

Is US Overcharging India for Predator Drones?

Why the Criticism?

India Paying the Price For Technology Transfer

Present Status of Sea Guardian Drones