US pushing India to seal armed drone buy when Modi visits: Report

Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington, the Biden administration is pushing New Delhi to cut through its own red tape and advance a deal for dozens of Unite States-made armed drones, two people familiar with the matter have told Reuters news agency. India has long expressed interest in buying large armed drones from the US. But bureaucratic stumbling blocks have hampered a deal for SeaGuardian drones, which could be worth $2bn to $3bn, for years. US negotiators are counting on Modi's White House visit on June 22 to seal the deal. Since the date for Modi's visit was fixed, the US State Department, Pentagon and White House have asked India to be able to "show" progress on the deal for as many as 30 armable MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones made by General Atomics, two sources told Reuters.