India and the United States continue to hold negotiations on finalizing a $3 billion deal for the supply of 31 MQ-9B Predator drones to the Indian armed forces, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The US Congress is expected to favorably consider approving the deal soon.External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the US has its own processes in place for such supplies and India respects that. This particular matter relates to the US side. They have their internal processes in place and we are respectful of that. That is where I would like to leave my comment, he told media at a briefing.We continue to discuss with the US Congress the potential sale consistent with standard processes and policies guiding such arm sales decisions, said a US embassy spokesperson on Wednesday. As part of the standard process, the State Department routinely engages Congressional foreign affairs committees prior to formal notification to address questions from committee staff, the official added.The drone deal was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Washington in June last year.State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the drone deal offers significant potential to further advance bilateral strategic technology cooperation between the US and India.Indian and US government officials have been holding a series of negotiations on the proposed procurement after Washington responded to New Delhis Letter of Request for acquiring the drones from US defense contractor General Atomics.While the final cost of the drones will be determined through negotiations, the deal is estimated to be worth around $3 billion.The proposed procurement was discussed during talks between US Defense Secretary Lloyd J Austin and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh in New Delhi in November. On June 15 last year, the Indian Defense Acquisition Council headed by Singh granted initial approval for the acquisition of 31 MQ-9B drones from the US under the foreign military sale program.The Indian Navy will receive 15 Sea Guardian drones, while the Indian Air Force and Army will each get 8 Sky Guardian drones. The high-altitude long-endurance drones can remain airborne over 35 hours and carry 4 Hellfire missiles and around 450 kg of bombs.
