Defence Ministry says cost of MQ-9B drone deal with US yet to be finalised, trashes social media reports on price

India and the US firmed up the drone deal during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile visit to Washington.

The Defence Ministry on Sunday rejected corruption allegations made by a Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader on the Narendra Modi government’s proposal to buy MQ-9B drones for the armed forces from a US defence major at an inflated price.

“Such reports are uncalled for, have ulterior motives and are aimed at derailing the due acquisition process. Price and other terms and conditions of the purchase are yet to be finalised and subject to negotiations,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

Days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first state visit to the USA, the Defence Ministry approved the acquisition of 31 MQ-9B (16 Sky Guardian and 15 Sea Guardian) High Altitude Long Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems at an estimated cost of $3,072 million from the USA through Foreign Military Sale route.

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While the deal was not inked during the PM’s US trip, Trinamool Congress national spokesperson Saket Gokhale has released a series of tweets charging the Modi government for overpaying while noting that the US Air Force and the UK bought the same UAV at a lesser price from General Atomics.

“Just like the Rafale deal, it seems that Modi govt is again purchasing US drones at a super overpriced cost. The question is why the Modi govt is purchasing overpriced drones from the US when cheaper similar versions are available and what happened to 'Atmanirbhar Bharat'?” he asked.

Describing Gokhale's claim as misleading, the Union government said the price reported by the TMC leader was a figure quoted by the US government but the final price and the terms of purchase were yet to be finalised and were subject to negotiations.

“Such misinformation can have a serious impact on the morale of the armed forces and adversely impact the acquisition process,” the ministry said. “The procurement is in progress and would be completed as per the laid down procedure.”

The defence ministry said the final price would be negotiated once policy approval of the US government is received and the acquisition cost was compared with the best price offered by General Atomics to other countries

Under the FMS route, a Letter of Request would be sent to the US Government where tri-services requirements, details of equipment and terms of the procurement would be included. Based on the LOR, the US Government and MoD will finalise the Letter of Offer and Acceptance where details of equipment and terms of the procurement would be negotiated and finalised in accordance with the FMS programme.