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India is hopeful of having 15 to 20 per cent of indigenous content in the MQ-9B High-Altitude long-endurance (HALE) UAVs, taking it up from the 8-9 per cent offered by General Atomics at present, a top government official said.
“We are keen to manufacture certain components in India and take up the overall indigenous content in the UAVs to 15 to 20 per cent,” the official said, adding that several private and public sector companies have shown interest in pitching in with avionics and sensors among other components and discussions are currently on with them.
The plan to procure the UAVs was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-day visit to the United States earlier this week.
“The MQ-9Bs, which will be assembled in India, will enhance the ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) capabilities of India’s armed forces across 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 to boost indigenous defense capabilities,” the joint statement issued by India and the US said.
Stating that the processes are expected to take a few months, the official indicated that further negotiations will take place before the deal is signed.
The commercial terms and other clearances will have to be secured before the deal is signed, the official said.
A week before PM Modi’s US trip, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had cleared the procurement of 31 UAVs —15 for the Navy and eight each for the Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) — a decision that was long-pending with the government.
As per General Atomics, the MQ-9 UAVs have an endurance of over 27 hours, speeds of 240 KTAS, can operate up to 50,000 feet and have a 3,850-pound (1,746 kg) payload capacity that includes 3,000 pounds (1,361 kg) of external stores.
Once delivered and employed, these HALE UAVs can carry out and boost the IAF’s ISR capabilities. Armed with payloads, the weaponised UAVs will be able to strike strategic targets in mountains and the maritime domain during long-endurance 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 during a period of two years since their maiden flight on November 21, 2020, and had helped the Indian Navy cover over 14 million square miles of operating area.
The MQ-9 UAVs have 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.
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