Subhechcha Ganguly 
During PM Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, the purchase of armed drones, the transfer of high-tech technology, and the Indo-Pacific will be some of the subjects of conversation.While the Indian Navy works to extend the lease of two Sea Guardian surveillance drones made by General Atomics, which expires in January 2024, India plans to expedite acquisition of armed drones from the US in light of the Quad nations’ collaboration on maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific. At Rajali Naval Base in Tamil Nadu, the two Sea Guardian drones are stationed.
The price of armed Predator drones (MQ-9B) will be a deciding issue in the purchase programme, but the Indian Navy is happy with the performance of the Sea Guardian, its surveillance counterpart, after leasing two of them in 2020 for maritime domain surveillance.The Sea Guardians provide real-time domain awareness from the eastern coast of Africa and the Gulf of Aden to Sunda Straits in Indonesia and beyond because to the drones’ endurance. After the PLA’s invasion of East Ladakh in May 2020, the Chinese build-up along the LAC was also surveyed using the rented drones.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes his State visit to the US on June 22, the purchase of armed drones, the transfer of high-tech technology, and the Indo-Pacific region will be among the subjects of conversation. International Yoga Day on June 21 and a later diaspora event in Chicago will be held before the state dinner.During PM Modi’s conversation with US President Joe Biden and in a bilateral meeting between US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on the sidelines of the G-7 summit, the preparations for the US visit—which is hailed as a game-changer—were discussed.The Chinese Navy will conduct long-range patrols into the Indian Ocean as early as 2025 because of how China has taken advantage of its relationships with Pakistan’s client state, Cambodia, Myanmar, Iran, and nations on Africa’s eastern shore. One of the most important military tools in the fight against the Chinese threat is the armed drone.
