1 week Ago By Rajat Pandit
NEW DELHI: India and the US on Tuesday will ink a $3.3 billion contract for 31 weaponised MQ-9B Predator drones, which will take the collective worth of lucrative Indian defence deals bagged by Washington to over $25 billion in less than two decades. Induction of 31 ‘hunter-killer’ high-altitude, long-endurance drones will boost India’s military capabilities in undertaking long-range strategic ISR missions and precision strikes against high-value targets, especially in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) where China is rapidly expanding its naval presence and turnaround facilities.
Under the govt-to-govt deal with the US, which was cleared by PM-led cabinet panel on security on Oct 9, deliveries of the 31 remotely-piloted aircraft systems with Hellfire missiles, GBU-39B precision-guided glide bombs, navigation systems, sensor suites and mobile ground control systems, will begin in about four years and be completed in six years, a defence ministry official told TOI. A separate contract will also be inked on Tuesday with drone-manufacturer General Atomics — which will assemble some of the fighter-sized MQ-9Bs in India — for the global MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul) facility to be set up here, with 34% of components to be sourced from Indian companies. “There will be performance-based logistics (PBL) for MQ-9Bs (15 Sea Guardians for Navy and 8 Sky Guardians each for Army and IAF) through depot-level MRO for 8 years or 1.
5 lakh flying hours, whichever is earlier,” the official said. Designed to fly for almost 40 hours at altitudes over 40,000 feet, capabilities of MQ-9Bs are considered far better than China’s existing armed drones like Cai Hong-4 and Wing Loong-II, which are also being supplied to Pakistan. There will be no transfer of tech in MQ-9B deal, General Atomics will give expertise & consultancy to DRDO & others to develop drones capable of firing missiles & precision-guided munitions on enemy targets before returning to home bases to rearm for next mission.
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