New Delhi: The US on Thursday approved the sale of 31 MQ-9B armed drones to India at an estimate cost of $3.99 billion.
This proposed mega deal was announced by Prime Minister Modi during the state visit in June 2023.
The acquisition of these advanced drones aims to enhance India’s surveillance capabilities and strengthen its armed forces.
Under this deal, India will get 31 High Altitude Large Endurance (HALE) UAVs, of which the Army and Indian Air Force will get eight land variants each – SkyGuardians and the Navy will get 15 SeaGaudian drones.
According to news agency Reuters, talks were going on between India and America on this deal worth about $ 4 billion for many years.
India conducted military experiments for such drowned soldiers, talks with America started in 2018. Now after getting approval from the US, the proposed sale of this equipment and support will not cause any change in the stock military balance. This proposed sale will not require the appointment of any attraction to the US government or business entity in India.
Importance of MQ-9B Armed Drones Deal:
“This proposed sale supports the foreign policy and national security organizations of the United States by helping to strengthen the U.S.-India partnership and improving the security of a major defense partner that faces political challenges,” the Defense Security Partner Agency said in a statement. There is stability.” remains an important matter for peace.
The Government of India has requested to buy thirty-one (31) MQ-9B Sky Guardian drone; one hundred sixty-one (161) Embedded Global Positioning & Inertial Navigation Systems (EGIs); thirty-five (35) L3 Rio Grande Communications Intelligence Sensor Suites; one hundred seventy (170) AGM-114R Hellfire missiles; sixteen (16) M36E9 Hellfire Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM); three hundred ten (310) GBU-39B/B Laser Small Diameter Bombs (LSDB); and eight (8) GBU-39B/B LSDB Guided Test Vehicles (GTVs) with live fuzes. Also included are Certifiable Ground Control Stations; TPE-331-10-GD engines; M299 Hellfire missile launchers; KIV-77 cryptographic appliques and other Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) equipment; KOR-24A Small Tactical Terminals (STT); AN/SSQ-62F, AN/SSQ-53G, and AN/SSQ-36 sonobuoys; ADU-891/E Adapter Group Test Sets; Common Munitions Built-In-Test (BIT) Reprogramming Equipment (CMBRE); GBU-39B/B tactical training rounds, Weapons Load Crew Trainers, and Reliability Assessment Vehicles-Instrumented; Portable Pre-flight/Post-flight Equipment (P3E); CCM-700A encryption devices; KY-100M Narrowband/wideband terminals; KI-133 cryptographic units; AN/PYQ-10 Simple Key Loaders; Automatic Identification System (AIS) transponders; ROVER 6Si and TNR2x transceivers; MR6000 ultra high frequency (UHF) and very high frequency (VHF) radios; Selex SeaSpray Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) surveillance radars; HISAR-300 Radars; SNC 4500 Auto Electronic Surveillance Measures (ESM) Systems; SAGE 750 ESM systems; Due Regard Radars (DRR); MX-20 Electro-Optical Infrared (EO-IR) Laser Target Designators (LTDs); Ku-Band SATCOM GAASI Transportable Earth Stations (GATES); C-Band Line-of-Sight (LOS) Ground Data Terminals;
AN/DPX-7 IFF transponders; Compact Multi-band Data Links (CMDL); initial spare and repair parts, consumables, accessories, and repair and return support; secure communications, precision navigation, and cryptographic equipment; munitions support and support equipment; testing and integration support and equipment; classified and unclassified software delivery and support; classified and unclassified publications and technical documentation; personnel training and training equipment; transportation support; warranties; studies and surveys; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services; and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated total cost is $3.99 billion.