Inside story of why India’s military worked to push mega US drone deal

New Delhi: The $3 billion deal for the 31 High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) drones between India and the US brings to culmination the Indian military's long-standing desire to have unprecedented surveillance and attack capability as well as the pragmatism of the American political and military establishment. Under the deal, the Navy will get 15 MQ9B drones in maritime and anti-submarine warfare kits, while the Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) will get 8 each of the land version. While both the variants have the option of being armed, sources in the defence and security establishment told ThePrint that…