India Set To Buy MQ-9B Drones: Things To Know About Armed Predator

The Defence Ministry on Thursday approved the procurement of 30 MQ-9B Predator armed drones from the US under a government-to-government framework.

The procurement of the weaponised 'hunter-killer' drones from General Atomics was cleared at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, PTI reported citing people familiar with the matter.

The nearly USD 3 billion deal is expected to be announced following talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in Washington next week.

Things To Know About MQ-9B:

• The MQ-9B drone is a variant of the MQ-9 "Reaper".

• The MQ-9B has two variants -- Sky Guardian and its sibling Sea Guardian.

• It is a variant of the MQ-9 Reaper that was used by US forces to launch a Hellfire R9X missile to kill al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in the heart of Kabul in July, last year.

• In 2020, the Indian Navy had taken on lease two MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones from General Atomics for a period of one year for surveillance in the Indian Ocean.

• The Sea Guardian drones can carry out a variety of roles including maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare and over-the-horizon targeting among others.

• The MQ-9B has signals intelligence and communications intelligence systems integrated onboard, but it can take any number of other custom sensors as necessary.

• The Sea Guardian drones can carry out a variety of roles including maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare and over-the-horizon targeting among others

• The drone has the capability to fly for more than 30 hours using satellite navigation, regardless of any weather conditions.

• According to General Atomics, the MQ-9B Sea Guardian has a maximum payload capacity of 12,500 lb (5,670 kg) and a fuel capacity of 6,000 lb (2,721 kg).

• It can be used for many operations including:

1. Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief
2. Search and Rescue
3. Law Enforcement
4. Border Enforcement
5. Defensive Counter Air
6. Airborne Early Warning
7. Electronic Warfare
8. Anti-Surface Warfare (SeaGuardian mission kit)
9. Anti-Submarine Warfare (SeaGuardian mission kit)
10. Airborne Mine Counter Measures (SeaGuardian mission kit)
11. Long-Range Strategic ISR
12. Over-the-Horizon Targeting