The Indian defence forces will deploy the 31 Predator drones at three major hubs across the country to carry out surveillance of all areas, including the borders with China and Pakistan, and the vast maritime zone.
The plan to procure General Atomics’ MQ-9B HALE UAVs was announced during the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US. Only some NATO countries and close military allies of the US have the Predator drones manufactured by General Atomics.
Such armed drones, like manned fighters, are capable of firing missiles and precision-guided munitions on enemy targets before returning to their home bases to re-arm for their next mission. The Predators, also called the MQ-9 Reaper, can fly up to 36 hours at a stretch and can be used for focused monitoring of any specific point or area of interest. The MQ-9B has two variants – SkyGuardian and its sibling SeaGuardian.
The MQ-9Bs will be assembled in India. As part of this plan, General Atomics will also establish a Comprehensive Global MRO facility in India.
The plan is to deploy these drones at three major hubs, one of which would be in the North or Northwest region while another would be in the northeastern region from where they would be looking after the entire region. One of the hubs would be created at the INS Rajali from where the forces are already operating the two Predator drones taken on lease during the initial phase of a standoff with China in 2020-21.
The three forces would also be operating these drones from bases which would enable the launching and landing of such unmanned aerial vehicles. The drones on lease are operated by the General Atomics representatives but now the Indian pilots from the three services would be trained for this role in India as well as in the US.
The drones would be operated by the tri-services jointly.
The proposal in this regard in the defence acquisition council was also sent by the tri-services headquarters.
A detailed scientific analysis was carried out by officers from the tri-services to arrive at the number of unmanned aerial vehicles of this long endurance variety.
All the future deals by the tri-services, including ones for helicopters, drones and air defence weapon systems, would be done in the same manner.
India shares vast maritime and land boundaries with two major adversaries — Pakistan and China — and requires constant monitoring of their activities to safeguard its national security interests.
The Predators, also called the MQ-9 Reaper, can fly up to 36 hours at a stretch and can be used for focused monitoring of any specific point or area of interest.
