The US government gave a go ahead for the deal in February, putting its value at an estimated $3.99 billion, up from earlier estimates of $3 billion. It is learnt that discussions on sharing of technology are not yet finalised.
The armed forces are also concerned about recent reports of sophisticated drones being shot down by non-state actors in conflict zones in West Asia.
India has been negotiating for a higher content of the MQ-9B drones to be manufactured locally, which will also bolster efforts to build indigenous combat drones in the future. Officials have said that the US company had expressed its willingness to manufacture some components in India that are valued at 8-9% of the deal.
However, officials have been trying hard to increase this to 15-20% of the deal value.General Atomics already has a tie up with Bharat Forge to make UAV components and has also committed to setting up a global maintenance hub for the MQ-9B drones in India. Unlike in the past, when foreign companies had to invest 30% of the value of the contract in the Indian defence and aerospace industry, offset rules have been waived off for government to government deals.
Once in service, the MQ-9Bs will operate from three planned hubs in India, including INS Rajali in Tamil Nadu from where two of the drones that have been leased by the Navy already operate. The other hubs are expected to come up in North India and North East.
