India signs $3.5 billion deal to buy 31 MQ-9B predator drones
- In Reports
- 10:27 PM, Oct 15, 2024
- Myind Staff
India has taken a huge leap in its military capacity as it has just agreed to purchase 31 MQ-9B Predator drones from the United States. According to this deal, the Indian Navy will get 15 Sea Guardian drones and the Indian Army and Air Force will get 8 each. The total cost of the deal is projected to be under $3.5 billion, marking a substantial investment in India's defence modernisation efforts.
Earlier this month, the Cabinet Committee on Security cleared the purchase of drones from American manufacturer General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) through a Foreign Military Sales contract between the two governments. The MQ-9B Predator/Reaper, a variant of the MQ-9 "Reaper" made by GA-ASI, is a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). It can fly up to 40 hours at altitudes above 40,000 feet and has an external payload capacity of 2,155 kg which makes it more versatile for a wide variety of military uses.
Not only does it have the state of the art surveillance, but the MQ-9B Predator drone is also armed with strike missiles, so it can take out targets with surgical precision. It has automatic take-off and landing capabilities, so it can be safely integrated into civilian airspace. All of these capabilities make the UAV very versatile for different types of missions, Littoral and Blue Water Surveillance, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Anti-Surface Warfare, Electronic Warfare, and Expeditionary warfare. The latter involves deployment to a particular area to perform assigned missions during conflicts.
In February, Matthew Miller, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, emphasised the significance of the drone acquisition deal in advancing strategic technology cooperation with India and strengthening military collaboration in the Indo-Pacific region. "The US-India Defence Partnership has seen significant growth over the past decade. This is a proposed sale that was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit last year. We believe it offers significant potential to further advance strategic technology cooperation with India and military cooperation in the region," he said.
Comments