After months of discussion with US lawmakers and India, the State Department formally informed Congress of the sale that includes 31 MQ-9B Sky Guardians, the most advanced among the Predator drones built by General Atomics. "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," a State Department statement said. Most explosively, the Justice Department alleged that an Indian government official directed the plan remotely. Congress still has 30 days in which it can block the sale, although most observers expect it to go through. The assassination allegations against India continue to cast a shadow over US-India relations," said Michael Kugelman, director of the Wilson Center's South Asia Institute.
