In June 2023, PM Narendra Modi made an announcement regarding the MQ-9B Predator drone deal while visiting the United States.
A Senate committee placed it on hold in December as it looked into an alleged Indian assassination plot on US grounds.
Now that the US Congress has given its assent, the agreement will be official.
According to the Pentagon, it includes the supply of 170 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles, 310 laser small diameter bombs, communications and monitoring devices, and 31 armed MQ-9B SkyGuardian drones. The deal’s primary contractor will be General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.
Senator Ben Cardin claimed he had lifted his “hold” on the pact after the US administration committed to conducting a thorough investigation into the assassination plan, according to the Reuters news agency.
Sikh separatists in the US are “the target of a murder plot”
“The [Biden] administration has demanded that there be investigation and accountability in regards to the plot here in the United States, and that there is accountability within India against these types of activities,” Mr. Cardin stated to reporters.
The US accused Delhi last year of arranging the murder of an American citizen who supports Khalistan, an independent Sikh state split off from India.
According to a government spokesman, the US had “conveyed our expectations that anyone deemed responsible should be held accountable”.
The foreign ministry of India denied any involvement in the murderous scheme. Additionally, it stated that a high-level inquiry group had been established “to address the security concerns of the US government and investigate the allegation.”
“Will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to strengthen the US-Indian strategic relationship,” the Pentagon stated on Thursday regarding the potential drone deal with India.
