India Can Trade For Precision Drones & UCAVs From USA: Heavy Cost Investments
Foundational pacts, COMCASA of 2018 and BECA, Tuesday with the US lead a way for India to trade for long range precision drones and UCAVs. "A significant achievement," said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
New Delhi, India:
India-US talks have paved the way for India to acquire armed drones like Reapers or Predators for long-range precision strikes against hostile targets on land and sea. These talks have been the result of India’s foundational defence pacts namely the Communications, Compatibility and Security Arrangement (COMCASA), Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA)
The Indian armed forces have been pushing to acquire about 30 ‘hunter-killer’ weaponized Sea Guardian or MQ-9 Reaper drones, which cost about $3 billion, with fast-track procurement of six of them amidst the ongoing military confrontation with China. The MQ-9 reaper shall be capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations.
“With the legal technology enabling pacts in place with the US, procedural hurdles for acquisition of these high-altitude, long endurance armed drones have been cleared. The question now is of money, which is being examined,” said an official.
Apart from the proposed acquisition of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), which are controlled by satellite links to bomb targets far away, India is also set to work with the US in developing small-sized “drone swarms” that can overwhelm and destroy an enemy’s air defence systems.
“India and US have identified priority near-term projects for joint development, which need to be fast-tracked under the defence technology and trade initiative (DTTI),” said India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The “short-term” projects under DTTI include the air-launched small aerial systems or drone swarms, light-weight small arms technology and ISTAR (intelligence, surveillance, targeting and reconnaissance) systems. A long-term one is anti-drone technology called “counter-UAS rocket, artillery and mortar systems”.
The two countries also proposed to extend their defence corporation to maritime frontiers by signing the maritime information sharing technical arrangement (MISTA).
The Communications, Compatibility and Security Arrangement (COMCASA) allow India to facilitate interoperability between militaries and sale of high end technology. It effectively makes India a major defence partner of the United States by guaranteeing that intelligence data shared between the two countries won’t be shared with a third party. The agreement was a product of the 2+2 talks, a bilateral dialogue between the defence and external ministers of India and the United States.
The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), another foundational agreement which was recently signed by the two countries on October 27, along with COMCASA and Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), completes the troika of “foundational pacts” for deep military cooperation between the countries, The agreement provides for real-time exchange of geospatial intelligence through advanced satellite imagery, topographical and aeronautical digital data for long-range navigation and pinpointed strikes against enemy targets.
India seeks to further enhance its defence cooperation programmes by forming ties with the US Central Command and Africa Command, in addition to the Indo-Pacific Command that covers India, to “promote shared security interests”.
“We also explored probable capacity building and other joint cooperation activities in third countries, including our neighbourhood and beyond. We have convergence of views on a number of such proposals and will take those forward,” said Mr Rajnath Singh.
The two countries seem to have shared common interests across the Indo-Pacific zone on account of the expansionist and aggressive behaviour constituted by China in the past decade.
“We reaffirmed our commitment to peace, stability and prosperity of all countries in this region,” Singh said. The recent Indo-China border standoff stands as a clear example for Indian military to prioritize co-operation with like-minded militaries in order to provide an effective deterrent against the expanding Chinese military.
“We also agreed that upholding the rules-based international order, respecting the rule of law and freedom of navigation in the international seas and upholding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states are essential” he added.