The plan to acquire the UAVs was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-day visit to the United States earlier this week.
India is hoping to have 15-20 percent indigenous content in the MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicles, up from 8-9 percent currently offered by General Atomics, a senior government official. saying.
“We are looking forward to manufacturing certain components in India and increasing the overall indigenous content in UAVs by 15 to 20 percent,” the official said, adding that a number of private and public sector companies have shown interest in participate with avionics and sensors. among other components and are currently being discussed with them.
The plan to acquire the UAVs was announced during the Prime Minister Narendra Modithe three-day visit to the United States earlier this week.
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“The MQ-9Bs, which will be assembled in India, will enhance the ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) capabilities of the Indian armed forces in all domains. As part of this plan, General Atomics will also establish a comprehensive global MRO facility in India to support India’s long-term goals of boosting indigenous defense capabilities,” said the joint statement issued by India and the US.
Noting that the processes are expected to take a few months, the official said more negotiations will take place before the agreement is signed.
Commercial terms and other authorizations will need to be secured before the deal is signed, the official said.
A week before Prime Minister Modi’s trip to the US, the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) had authorized the acquisition of 31 UAVs, 15 for the Navy and eight for the Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF), a long overdue decision. government.
According to General Atomics, the MQ-9 UAVs have a range of more than 27 hours, speeds of 240 KTAS, can operate up to 50,000 feet, and have a payload capacity of 3,850 pounds (1,746 kg) including 3,000 pounds (1,361 kg ) from external stores.
Once delivered and employed, these HALE UAVs can carry out and augment the IAF’s ISR capabilities. Armed with payloads, the armed UAVs will be able to attack strategic targets in the mountains and the maritime domain during long-duration missions.
In the aftermath of the Galwan Valley clashes in 2020, the Navy had leased two MQ-9 UAVs and the lease has since been extended.
In November 2022, GA-ASI announced that these leased UAVs had completed 10,000 flight hours over a two-year period since their maiden flight on November 21, 2020, helping the Indian Navy to cover more than 14 million square miles of operational area.
MQ-9 UAVs have been procured by the US Air Force, the US Department of Homeland Security, NASA, the Royal Air Force, the Italian Air Force, the French Air Force and the Air Force Spanish.
First published in: 2023-06-24 21:50 IST
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