Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has cleared major defence deals for building nuclear submarines indigenously and buying 31 MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft from the United States, senior government officials confirmed to The Indian Express. The move will be a significant capability boost for the Navy and the Armed Forces.
As per officials, the Navy will be getting nuclear-powered attack submarines, significantly enhancing its might in the Indian Ocean Region. The exact number of submarines to be procured is not immediately known. The Navy has long been awaiting procurement of six such indigenously-built nuclear submarines, but the deal had seen little progress in the last few years.
The submarines are likely to be built at the Ship Building Centre in Visakhapatnam and will involve private sector firms.
The CCS also cleared the acquisition of 31 Predator drones from the US-based General Atomics under a Foreign Military Sales contract between the two governments.
The acquisition of the MQ-9B — 16 Sky Guardian and 15 Sea Guardian High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for the Indian Armed Forces from the United States through the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) route was cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) in June and the was among the key announcements made in the defence sector during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s State visit to the US in June.
The MQ-9Bs, to be assembled in India, will enhance the ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) capabilities of India’s armed forces. They can also carry out precision strikes on strategic targets in mountains and the maritime domain during long-endurance missions.
Earlier, the Navy had leased the two RPAs from the US-based GA in 2020 in the aftermath of the Galwan Valley clashes between Indian and Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh. Last month, one of them had to carry out a controlled ditching at sea off Chennai on Wednesday after it encountered a technical failure while on a routine surveillance mission, following which the Navy had detailed report has been sought from the Original Equipment Manufacturer.
Last month, US President Joe Biden, during PM Narendra Modi’s three-day official visit to the United States, welcomed the progress towards India concluding procurement of 31 General Atomics MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft and their associated equipment, to enhance the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of India’s armed forces across all domains.
This was also discussed during defence minister Rajnath Singh’s bilateral meeting with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin in the Pentagon in August.
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
