Acquisition of MQ-9B drones: Speculative reports uncalled for, says Defence Ministry

New Delhi,  June 25 (IANS) India is yet to finalise the price and other terms and conditions for the purchase of 31 MQ-9B long endurance drones from the US, the defence ministry said on Sunday, trashing speculative reports in social media on the cost and the acquisition process.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) said that it has accorded the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the acquisition of 31 MQ-9B (16 Sky Guardian and 15 Sea Guardian) High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS).

The Aircraft Systems is for the Tri-Services from the US through Foreign Military Sale (FMS) route. The AoN included the number of UAVs to be procured along with associated equipment, the Ministry of Defence said this on Sunday.

Meanwhile, some speculative reports emerged in sections of social media referring to the price and other terms of purchase. The MoD said that these 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. In this regard, all are requested not to spread fake news or misinformation which can have serious impact on the morale of the Armed Forces and adversely impact the acquisition process,” the Defence Ministry added.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the AoN noted the estimated cost of 3,072 million US dollars provided by the US government. However, price will be negotiated once policy approval of the US government is received.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) will compare the acquisition cost with the best price offered by General Atomics (GA) to other countries. The procurement is in progress and would be completed as per the laid down procedure, the ministry said.

The MoD said that under the FMS route, a Letter of Request (LOR) would be sent to the US government where Tri-services requirements, details of equipment and terms of the procurement would be included. Based on LOR, the US government and MoD will finalise the Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) where details of equipment and terms of the procurement would be negotiated and finalised in accordance with the FMS programme and the price and terms offered by the US government and GA to other countries, they added.

IANS