The United States government has approved the sale of 31 MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft along with related equipment to India at an estimated $3.99 billion, or Rs 33,060.14 crore.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Defence Security Cooperation Agency, under the US Department of Defense, said that it has notified the sale to the country’s Congress.

“Congress now has 30 days to review the proposed sale,” a US Embassy spokesperson was quoted as saying by The Hindu. “Upon conclusion of their review, India and the United States may conclude the sale with a Letter of Offer and Acceptance.”

India had in June proposed to buy 15 Sea Guardian drones for the Indian Navy and eight Sky Guardian drones each for the Air Force and Army from the United States.

On Wednesday, however, a report in The Wire said that the United States had held back the delivery of the drones until India conducted a “meaningful investigation” into an alleged conspiracy involving an Indian government agent to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

Following this, the United States Embassy to India said that the country “continues to discuss the potential sale consistent with standard processes and policies guiding such arm sales decisions”.

In the statement released on Thursday, the Defence Security Cooperation Agency said that the proposed sale to India will support the United States’ foreign policy and national security objectives by helping to strengthen its ties with India.

It said that the development will also improve the security of a “major defence partner which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia region”.

“The proposed sale will improve India’s capability to meet current and future threats by enabling unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance patrols in sea lanes of operation,” read the statement. “India has demonstrated a commitment to modernizing its military and will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces.”

US Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday that the US-Indian defence partnership has seen significant growth over the past decade.

On Wednesday, The Wire quoted an unidentified highly-placed source in Washington as saying that the proposal to sell the drones was “stuck in the US Congress because of anger over the brazen attempt to assassinate Pannun”.

US allegations

On November 29, the United States announced that it had filed “murder-for-hire charges” against one Nikhil Gupta in connection with the thwarted plot to assassinate the Sikh separatist leader. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The office alleged that Gupta had been recruited by an Indian government employee, who “directed a plot to assassinate on US soil an attorney and political activist who is a US citizen of Indian origin residing in New York City”.

Though the statement did not name the separatist leader, a report in the Financial Times on November 23 identified him as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

The United States Department of Justice also alleged that the plot was part of a larger conspiracy to kill one person in California and at least three in Canada.

New Delhi has constituted a high-level committee to examine the matter.