Indian and US diplomatic officials confirmed to Hindustan Times that Washington has agreed to let India purchase the MQ-9 Predator B. New Delhi was cleared to buy the Guardian variant of the MQ-9, which is designed for maritime surveillance, however, was in favour of acquiring an armed drone which operates over both land and sea, especially given the costs involved.

Manufactured by General Atomics, Predator-B has both land and naval versions and can be armed with air-to-land missiles, anti-ship missiles and laser-guided bombs.