INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: India is all set to finalise its long-pending plan to acquire top-notch armed Predator or MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones from the US,
which is likely to be announced during PM Narendra Modi's visit to Washington next week.Sources said the Rajnath Singh-led defence
acquisitions council (DAC) on Thursday will take up the acquisition project for the weaponised 'hunter-killer' Predator drones, equipped
with air-to-ground missiles and smart bombs for long-range precision strikes, for approval under the government-to-government deal with the
US.The number of the high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) Predator drones to be acquired is likely to be 30, with 14 for the Navy and eight
each for the Army and IAF, but it could be pared down a little
The overall project is likely to cost around $3 billion.Once the DAC accords the 'acceptance of necessity (AoN)', India will issue an
actionable LoR (letter of request) to the US government
The final contract will be inked after Washington notifies the US Congress and responds with an LoA (letter of offer and acceptance).The
likely announcement for the General Atomics-manufactured Predators during the PM's visit will be the second such big-ticket project
The pact between US company General Electric (GE) and defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics to jointly produce GE-F414 turbofan engines to power
the indigenous Tejas Mark-2 fighter jet is already on the agenda, as earlier reported by TOI.China, incidentally, has been supplying armed
Cai Hong-4 and Wing Loong-II drones to Pakistan
TOI was the first to report that India had projected the requirement for 30 MQ-9B or SeaGuardian remotely-piloted aircraft systems (RPAS),
10 each for the Army, Navy and IAF, with different payloads to hunt and destroy targets over land and sea.But the deal's high cost delayed
matters by at least a couple of years
Moreover, India has been pushing for adequate transfer of technology (ToT) and setting up of cost-effective MRO (maintenance, repair and
overhaul) facilities under the deal.Now, the fresh numbers for each Service has been decided after a detailed operations research systems
analysis (ORSA) conducted on the basis of the requirement for land and maritime surveillance and strike capabilities.The Navy has been using
two unarmed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones, on lease from General Atomics from September 2020, for surveillance missions in the Indian Ocean
The drones, which have a maximum range of 5,500 nautical miles and an endurance of 35 hours, have also been deployed to monitor troop
build-up as well as infrastructure upgrades along the land borders with China amid the continuing military confrontation in eastern Ladakh.
