The Indian Navy has leased a pair of MQ-9B SeaGuardian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from the United States to increase its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, amid a border row with China at the Ladakh theater and increased Chinese activity in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), officials familiar with the events said Wednesday.
The two MQ-9Bs have been leased for one year, one of the officials cited above said on condition of anonymity, without disclosing the cost of the lease.
A variant of the Predator B drones manufactured by US firm General Atomics, the high-tech maritime drones have been based at Naval Air Station Rajali in Tamil Nadu, which is also home to the Indian Navy fleet of P-8Is of long maritime range. reconnaissance aircraft.
The MQ-9Bs will allow the navy to keep a close eye on the IOR at a time when it has stepped up surveillance and activities in the region to control China’s ambitions, a second official said.
The UAVs arrived in India in early November and began conducting missions last week, although the navy has not published the lease agreement, officials said.
The MQ-9B is the first piece of military hardware that India rents after the government announced new weapons procurement procedures that allowed the option of leasing weapons and systems. The Defense Acquisition Procedure-2020, which went into effect on October 1, allows the leasing of military hardware to reduce costs associated with purchasing equipment.
Experts said the MQ-9Bs would increase the navy’s situational awareness on land and sea with their range and endurance. “Most drones are very useful from an operational point of view and could also be profitable platforms for maritime surveillance. I hope indigenous drones are being developed for such purposes, but as an interim measure, the MQ-9Bs could be quite critical, ”said Rear Admiral Sudarshan Shrikhande, an expert on maritime affairs (retired).
Capable of operating at an altitude of 40,000 feet, the MQ-9B UAVs have a 30-hour range and a range of more than 5,000 nautical miles, capabilities that the Indian Navy will fully exploit to monitor the IOR, officials said.
Speaking at an event on November 6, Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh
He said that a “competition of great power” was developing “quite vigorously” at the IOR. “The IOR is one of the most militarized regions … In addition, there are different interpretations of international law and there is fear that ‘Global Commons’ could change to ‘Disputed seas’, threatening the free flow of trade and commerce” , said.
India is monitoring China’s aggressive movements in the South China Sea and taking steps to ensure that the Chinese navy does not make its way into the Indian Ocean, where combat-ready Indian warships are conducting 24-hour surveillance. hours to detect any abnormalities. exercise.
India plans to install a total of 30 such UAVs, including armored versions, for the three services for a whopping $ 4 billion.
According to General Atomics, the MQ-9B can operate in adverse weather conditions due to “better tolerance to structural fatigue and damage and more robust flight control software.”
The navy currently operates a combination of Israel-built Heron and Searcher UAVs for intelligence gathering and surveillance. It has a vast area of responsibility in the IOR spanning millions of square kilometers, with warships deployed from the Persian Gulf to the Straits of Malacca and the northern Bay of Bengal to the southeast coast of Africa.
India’s exclusive economic zone alone measures 2.4 million square kilometers, which is also the responsibility of the navy.
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