MQ-9B DRONES - DEFENCE AND SECURITY
News:
Explained | The India-U.S. deal for 31 MQ-9B drones
What's in the news?
● U.S
President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed India’s plans to
procure General Atomics MQ-9B High
Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial vehicles (UAV), the joint
statement issued last week after talks between the two leaders said.
Key takeaways:
● This
sets the stage for the acquisition of 31 of MQ-9B armed UAVs, 15 SeaGuardians
for the Indian Navy and 16 SkyGuardians — eight each for the Indian Army and
Air Force.
MQ-9B:
The
MQ-9B has two variants such as
● The
SkyGuardian
● The
SeaGuardian, its maritime variant.
Features:
● The
MQ-9B is designed to fly over the horizon via satellite for up to 40 hours,
depending on configuration, in all types of weather and safely integrate into
civil airspace, according to its manufacturer.
● For
instance, the SeaGuardian configuration can include a 360-degree surface-search maritime radar, automatic identification
system, sonobuoy monitoring system, and sonobuoy dispensers for persistent
anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions.
Significance:
● For
the Army and Air Force, the MQ-9Bs can provide round-the-clock surveillance
looking far beyond the borders, for instance on the movement of Chinese
military buildup and troop movement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and
deep inside.
● It
also seamlessly integrates with other U.S.-origin platforms that India
operates, the P-8Is, AH-64 Apache attack
helicopters, MH-60R multi-role helicopters among others expanding MQ-9B’s
multi-domain mission set.
UAVs are already in service:
● The
Indian Navy has leased two MQ-9As from General Atomics with the maiden flight
taking place on November 21, 2020.