US approves sale of 40 Predator drones to India

India is trying to buy 40 unmanned Predator surveillance drones from the US for surveying the border with Pakistan, China and shipping lanes. India had already acquired surveillance drones from Israel which have been deployed for use on the Indo-Pak border. Owing to the strategic ties with India, the US is bound to sell the aircraft to New Delhi because of the growing clout of China in the region and Beijing's thumbing the nose at Washington in the South China Sea. The Indian Navy is seeking the Predators. Besides, the chief executive of the US and International Strategic Development at San Diego-based General Atomics, Vivek Lall, sees the need for the strategic sale of Predators to India. The US Government has already approved of the sale, but the delivery schedule is yet to be worked out. Predators can fly 35 hours at a stretch, and these are vital over the Indian Ocean, where the Chinese have increased their ship and submarine patrols. While asking both India and Pakistan to reduce their arsenals, the outgoing President Barack Obama regime has already approved of the sale of another batch of F16s to Pakistan. But in the case of China, the strategic partnership with India comes to the fore, and the US would be doing itself good by sharing the Predators with India.