1. TEXT & CONTEXT: THE INDIA-U.S. DEAL FOR 31 MQ-9B DRONES 03:58 PM
U.S. and India issued a joint statement on India's procurement of General Atomics MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
1. TEXT & CONTEXT: THE INDIA-U.S. DEAL FOR 31 MQ-9B DRONES 03:58 PM
U.S. and India issued a joint statement on India's procurement of General Atomics MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). This sets the stage for the acquisition of 31 of these UAVs, 15 Sea-Guardians for the Indian Navy, and 16 Sky-Guardians for the Indian Air Force.
The MQ-9Bs, which will be assembled in India, will enhance the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance capabilities of India's armed forces across domains. As part of this plan, General Atomics will establish a Comprehensive Global Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facility in India to boost India's defence capabilities.
The MQ-9B has two variants- the Sky and the Sea Guardian. It is designed to fly over the horizon via satellite for up to 40 hours, in all types of weather, and safely integrate into civil airspace.
According to General Atomics, it can provide roughly 80% of the capability of a large human-flown maritime patrol aircraft at about 20% of its cost per hour. The Indian Navy is keen on these UAVs as it reduces the wear and tear on the manned aircraft. For the Indian Army and Air Force, the MQ-9Bs can provide round-the-clock surveillance looking far beyond the borders.
It also seamlessly integrates with other U.S.-origin platforms that India operates, the P-81s, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, among others.
- MQ-9 is a technological leap from the original RQ-1/MQ-1 Predator that heralded the arrival of long endurance drones at the end of the 20th century.
- The RQ-1 Predator was replaced by MQ-9 Reaper in 2018. The Reaper is employed primarily as an intelligence collection asset and secondarily against dynamic execution targets.