A SeaGuardian drone. (Photo: General Atomics)
New Delhi: The Defence Acquisition Council, chaired by the defence minister, Rajnath Singh, gave its green signal to the armed forces to purchase 31 MQ-9B SeaGuardian, also known as Predator B, drones from the United States, on Thursday. The deal is estimated to be worth $3 billion.
This development comes a week ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first state visit to the country.
The next step towards the process of procuring these unmanned aerial vehicles will be to issue a letter of request from India to the US for these drones. This will have to be followed by a letter of acceptance from the US. Then the final step would be to get the clearance for the procurement from the Cabinet Committee on Security, which the prime minister heads.
It is widely believed the entire process would be completed before Modi embarks on his trip so that the megadeal can be signed during his visit to the US.
According to a defence ministry official, all the three services of the armed forces – Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force – will get the drones. India Sentinels has learned that the Navy will get 15 of these General Atomics-made drones, while the Army and the Air Force will get eight each.
It may be noted that the Navy operates two unarmed SeaGuardians that it had leased from the US in 2020. The lease agreement was valid for one year and has been subsequently extended.
These drones are deployed for maritime reconnaissance across India’s two seaboards. However, there are reports that these drones have also been used for keeping an eye on Chinese activities along the line of actual control (LAC), especially since the tense stand-off between Indian and Chinese troops began in May 2020.
It may be mentioned that earlier this month, during bilateral talks between the defence minister, Rajnath Singh, and the US defence secretary, Llyod Austin, in New Delhi, it had emerged that General Electric may set up an engine-manufacturing facility in India for fighter aircraft that India is building indigenously, like the Tejas MK2 and advanced medium combat aircraft, as reported by India Sentinels. That deal is also widely believed to be signed during Modi’s state visit to the US.
About MQ-9B SeaGuardian ‘Predator’ drones
The MQ-9B SeaGuardian drone is a variant of the original MQ-9 Reaper drone, which is also called the Predator B drone. It is manufactured by US defence major General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.
The SeaGuardian is a high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle. It has the capability to stay airborne for around 30 hours in all-weather conditions. It is capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations.
The weaponized SeaGuardian drones can carry up to four AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles or four Hellfire missiles and two 500-pound (230-kilogram) GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs. It can also carry the 500-pound GBU-38 joint direct-attack munition (JDAM).
So far, apart from the US, only Nato countries and close US allies have the highly advanced drone. For India, a deal of this kind has been made possible after New Delhi signed the Communications, Compatibility and Security Arrangement (COMCASA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Cooperation (BECA) with Washington DC, in 2018 and 2020 respectively.
The induction of these drones into the armed forces will strengthen the services’ surveillance capabilities along the LAC with China and deep into the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The SeaGuardian is also a very effective counter to Pakistan’s Wing Loong II HALE drones, which it procured from China.
The overall deal is expected to cost India around $3 billion.
