Defence Ministry’s Decision On US Predator Drone Deal Imminent: Sources

Before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington, a deal to buy US-made Predator drones is expected to be made by the Defense Ministry at a meeting on Thursday, June 15. Government sources told India Today that the meeting will take place on June 15. The MQ-9B SeaGuardian drone is the one that is being talked about.

India has said for a long time that it wants to buy big, armed drones from the US. The new development in the deal comes after National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and his visiting American counterpart Jake Sullivan on Tuesday unveiled an ambitious plan for Indo-US collaboration in high-tech areas like semiconductors, next-generation telecommunications, artificial intelligence, and defense.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Biden administration is trying to get the Indian government to approve the deal before PM Modi’s visit. According to a Reuters story, the US State Department, Pentagon, and White House have asked India to “show” progress on the deal for up to 30 armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones made by General Atomics.

India will be able to improve its total surveillance along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and in the Indian Ocean thanks to the deal, which is said to cost more than $3 billion. The long-range, high-altitude drones are equipped with strike rockets that can hit enemy targets very accurately.

All you need to know about the drone:

The MQ-9B SeaGuardian is a maritime drone that can fly over the ocean for more than 30 hours at a time using satellites. According to the General Atomics website, the drone can “safely integrate into civil airspace, allowing joint forces and civil authorities to provide real-time situational awareness anywhere in the maritime domain, day or night.”

The SeaGuardian can be used for many different things, like humanitarian aid and crisis relief, search and rescue, law enforcement, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, airborne mine countermeasures, long-range strategic ISR, over-the-horizon targeting, and anti-submarine warfare.

The MQ-9B SeaGuardian is used by or has been used by the United States, India, Australia, and Japan, which are all members of the Quad. India is currently renting MQ-9Bs as part of a mission to gather information.

Vivek Lall, CEO of General Atomics Global Corporation, said, “MQ-9B would allow its Indian military users to fly farther than anything else in this category, spend more time in the air, and handle a wider range of missions than any other similar aircraft.” With their onboard systems, the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian can send full-motion video in almost any weather, day or night, as well as other kinds of detailed data.

India is using two predator drones that were leased from an American company. These drones are helping the Navy keep an eye on what’s going on in the Indian Ocean area.