The Ministry of Defence on Thursday reportedly approved the acquisition MQ-9B Reaper armed drones from the US during a Defence Acquisition Council meeting led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

According to Reuters sources, India will procure 31 armable MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones made by General Atomics, an American energy and defence company. The three services are likely to each receive an equal number of these drones, which are designed for border region surveillance: eight for the Indian Army, eight for the Indian Air Force, and maybe 15 for the Indian Navy.

The deal of over $3 billion for the procurement of 30 MQ-9B Predator armed drones was much awaited ahead of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US next week. The procurement of these drones holds significant as the Indian government aims to use them to ramp up its surveillance apparatus along the frontier with China as well as in the Indian Ocean region, the Times of India quoted sources as saying.

The MQ-9B drone is a variant of the MQ-9 "Reaper" which was used to launch a modified version of the Hellfire missile that eliminated al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul.

Key features of MQ-9B

> The MQ-9B has two variants — SkyGuardian and its sibling SeaGuardian. The Indian Navy has been operating the MQ-9B Sea Guardian since 2020.

> MQ-9B Sea Guardian can carry up to 12,500 lb (5,670 kg) and has fuel capacity of 6,000 lb (2,721 kg), as per the information by the General Atomics.

> The drone can operate at over 40,000 feet, giving the Indian military surveillance capacity in the high-altitude Himalayan border areas.

> The Predator also has the maximum endurance of 40 hours, making it useful for long-hour surveillance.

> MQ-9B Sea Guardian can support land, maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, strike, electronic warfare and expeditionary roles.

> The MQ-9B Sea Guardian is also capable of automatic take-offs and landings.

> The MQ-9 and other UAVs are referred to as remotely piloted vehicles/aircraft (RPV/RPA) by the USAF. The aircraft is monitored and controlled by aircrew in the Ground Control Station (GCS) and is popularly called in the US as the first hunter-killer UAV.

Read more about the MQ-9 Reaper armed drones here

First Published:Jun 15, 2023 10:25 AM IST