The Union Defence Ministry has called a high-level meeting on November 15, 2021 to discuss the acquisition of 30 Predator drones from the United States worth around Rs 21,000 crore. The deal has been in the pipeline for years.
As per sources, the high-level meeting will be attended by senior officials of the Ministry. If the acquisition is cleared in the meeting, the proposal will be forwarded to the Defence Acquisition Council headed by Union Defence minister Rajnath Singh
The proposal will then be sent for final approval to the Cabinet Committee on Security after which the contract will be signed.
Predator drones contract: Key Highlights
The predator drones will be armed with advanced systems and weapons packages. It will enable long-range surveillance and precision strikes.
The Indian Navy is the lead service for the acquisition case. If approved, all three armed services- the Indian Army, Air Force and the Navy will get 10 drones each with customised specifications.
Significance
The Indian Navy has already been using two unarmed SeaGuardian drones, which it had leased last year from the US for surveillance in the Indian Ocean Region under the emergency procurement powers given by the government.
The Navy had deployed these drones in the Indian Ocean Region. The drones with over 30 hours of endurance have boosted the domain awareness of the Naval force in the area, which frequently sees Chinese Navy warships and submarines and merchant vessels passing through.
Background
India and the United States have been negotiating the deal for over two years and it is now finally in the final stages of getting the required clearance from the government. India also aims to acquire SeaGuardian/SkyGuardian variants of the MQ-9B.
India has also been getting drones from Israel that have boosted the armed forces' coverage in high-altitude areas. These drones have been equipped with the latest surveillance gadgets.
MQ-9 Reaper (Predator B)The MQ-9 Reaper is a long-endurance, medium-altitude, multi-mission unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that has been designed for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The predator drone built by General Atomics Aeronautical System is one of the most popular military drones. It is known as the first “hunter-killer UAV” that promotes high altitude and long endurance missions. The MQ-1 Predator, one of the original military drones, was deployed as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was also deployed for combat in Pakistan, Serbia, Yemen, Syria and Somalia. |
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