US takes decision in favour of India; this drone will now rule Indian borders

NEW DELHI: The US has approved a deal to sell unmanned MQ-9B maritime surveillance drones to India. The US Department of Defence (US DOD) said that the US State Department decided to approve a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of India of MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of USD 3.99 billion.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to strengthen the US-Indian strategic relationship and to improve the security of a major defence partner that continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia regions, the news release said.

The proposed sale will improve India's capability to meet current and future threats by enabling unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance patrols in sea lanes of operation. India has demonstrated a commitment to modernising its military and will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces, it added.

The Defence Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of India has requested to buy 31 MQ-9B Sky Guardian aircraft; one 161 Embedded Global Positioning and Inertial Navigation Systems (EGIs); 35 L3 Rio Grande Communications Intelligence Sensor Suites; 170 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles; 16 M36E9 Hellfire Captive Air Training Missiles (CATM); 310 GBU-39B/B Laser Small Diameter Bombs (LSDB); and 8 GBU-39B/B LSDB Guided Test Vehicles (GTVs) with live fuzes, the US Department of Defence informed.

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.

It also include 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.

Also included are: 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, according to the news release. The estimated total cost is USD 3.99 billion.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

Drone Out of the 31 drones to be procured by India, 15 SeaGuardier drones will be supplied to the Navy and eight each to the Army and Navy. The MQ-9B is manufactured by General Atomics Aeronautical, a private US defense firm. 

These drones are equipped with Remote Pilot Aircraft Systems that help in surveillance and intelligence operations. These high altitude long endurance drones can fly over the horizon for up to 40 hours.

These drones can carry four laser-guided Hellfire missiles and 450 kg bombs. These are expected to play an important role in surveillance in the border areas and the Indian Ocean region.