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The apex body responsible for clearing all capital acquisitions for the Indian Armed Forces, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), on Thursday (June 15) approved the procurement of armed Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), an aeronautics company based in the United States, at a cost of over $3 billion.
The move came just a week before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, pointing at a possible announcement of the deal during the visit.
The procurement is now awaiting the final nod from the Cabinet Committee on Security.
What is the Predator UAV?
As per GA-ASI, the MQ-9 UAV has an endurance of over 27 hours, speeds of 240 KTAS, can operate up to 50,000 feet, and has a 3,850 pound (1,746 kilograms) payload capacity that includes 3,000 pounds (1,361 kilograms) of external stores.
The aircraft’s manufacturer also says that it can carry 500 per cent more payload and has nine times the horsepower in comparison to the earlier MQ-1 Predator. Moreover, MQ-9 UAV provides long-endurance, persistent surveillance, and strike capability for the warfighter.
The maritime variant of the MQ-9 UAV, known as Sea Guardian, has an endurance of over 30 hours.
Earlier this year, the US Air Force (USAF) had ditched an MQ-9 Reaper in the Black Sea after a confrontation with two Russian Su-27 jets over international waters west of Crimea.
How will it help the Indian Armed Forces?
Although the plan to buy this UAV has been on the cards for a long time, its purchase got delayed due to the emphasis on self-reliance in the defence sector and limitations imposed on imports.
If the deal comes through, India will have 31 MQ-9s for its Armed Forces, including 15 for the Navy and eight each for the Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Once delivered and employed, these High-Altitude Long Endurance drones can carry out and boost the Indian Armed Forces’ Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. Armed with payloads, the weaponized UAV will be able to strike strategic targets in mountains and the maritime domain during long-endurance missions.
As per the USAF, MQ-9 UAV is employed primarily as an intelligence-collection asset and secondarily against dynamic execution targets.
“Given its significant loiter time, wide-range sensors, multi-mode communications suite, and precision weapons, it provides a unique capability to perform strike, coordination, and reconnaissance against high-value, fleeting, and time-sensitive targets,” the force says.
It can also undertake close air support, combat search and rescue, precision strike, buddy-lase, convoy and raid overwatch, route clearance, target development, and terminal air guidance, according to the USAF.
Has India employed these UAVs earlier?
In the aftermath of the Galwan Valley clashes in 2020, the Navy had leased two MQ-9 UAVs and the lease was since extended.
In November 2022, GA-ASI announced that these leased UAVs had completed 10,000 flight hours during a period of two years since their maiden flight on November 21, 2020, and have helped the Indian Navy to cover over 14 million square miles of operating area.
At Aero India in Bengaluru in February this year, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and GA-ASI had said that the turbo-propeller engines for the MQ-9 UAV would be supported by the former’s engine division for the Indian market.
A joint statement which was issued then said they were planning to put in place an engine Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) programme for future HALE UAV projects.
Which other countries use the MQ-9 UAV?
As per GA-ASI, the MQ-9 UAV has been acquired 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 Spanish Air Force.
