Navy to lease two new MQ-9B Sea Guardian unmanned aircraft with US firm

The Indian Ministry of Defence recently signed a contract worth Rs 1,943 crore with American defense firm General Atomics Aeronautical to lease two MQ-9B Sea Guardian High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) to the Indian Navy. The Minister of Defence, in a statement, highlighted that this contract, signed in the presence of Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition), Department of Defence, Anbarasu, would augment the Indian Navy's Maritime Domain Awareness capabilities.

These advanced systems, equipped with state-of-the-art sensors and sophisticated payloads, are expected to provide persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance over extensive maritime domains, thereby enhancing India's response capabilities across the Indian Ocean Region. Currently, the Navy operates two MQ-9A RPAS, which were leased in 2020 amid border tensions with China.

With the addition of these two new HALE systems, the Navy's inventory will swell to a total of four units, providing broader operational coverage across both the eastern and western regions. Notably, while the existing RPAS leases will terminate after a certain period, the new RPAS leases will be valid until the delivery of the remaining 31 MQ-9B HALE RPAS, set to commence in 2024.

India and the US inked a significant deal worth $3.5 billion in 2024 to procure these 31 RPAS, which can also be used for precision strikes in strategic mountainous areas and maritime domains during long-endurance missions. Additionally, a global Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility will be established in India under a contract with General Atomics to assemble some of these MQ-9Bs in the country, aligning with India's long-term objectives to bolster its indigenous defense capabilities.