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Guardian sale could signal US policy change

29th June 2017 - 02:28 GMT | by Gordon Arthur in Hong Kong

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The White House approved the sale of 22 non-weaponised MQ-9B Guardian UAVs to India on 21 June, perhaps signalling a policy shift in terms of American sales of sophisticated MALE unmanned aircraft.

Although the proposed sale to India, which is worth an estimated $3 billion, is yet to receive congressional approval, such a green light is probably assured.

A spokesperson at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) told Shephard that this ‘multi-step process’ has been going on for about two years since the first application was made by the Indian government.

The spokesperson confirmed that India has directly lodged three requests

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Author

Gordon Arthur

Gordon Arthur was the Asia Pacific editor for Shephard Media. Born in Scotland and educated …

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