India to seek higher tech transfer in $3bn drone deal with US

India seeks higher technology transfer in $3bn drone deal with the US for 31 MQ-9B unmanned aerial vehicles, doubling the current 8-9% on offer. The drones will be assembled in India and used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as electronic warfare, defensive counter air and airborne early warning. The deal follows India’s acquisition of a pair of MQ-9B UAVs leased from the US three years ago to boost its ISR capabilities in the Indian Ocean and along the country?s northern borders where it is in a tense border row with China.