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India hopes to get 15 to 20 percent of the original content in the MQ-9B Heavy Duty Long Endurance (HALE) UAV, bringing it to the 8-9 percent currently offered by General Atomics, a senior government official said. .
“We are keen to manufacture certain components in India and take advantage of the gross domestic content in UAVs to 15 to 20 percent,” the official said, adding that several private and public sector companies have shown interest in promoting avionics and sensors. Among other components, discussions are currently underway with them.
The plan to buy the drones was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-day visit to the US earlier this week.
The MQ-9B aircraft, which will be assembled in India, will enhance the ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) capabilities of the Indian Armed Forces across domains. As part of this plan, General Atomics will also set up a comprehensive global maintenance and repair facility in India to support India’s long-term goals of enhancing indigenous defense capabilities,” reads the joint statement issued by India and the United States.
Noting that the operations are expected to take a few months, the official indicated that further negotiations will take place before the deal is signed.
The official said commercial terms and other approvals would have to be secured before a deal could be signed.
A week before Prime Minister Modi’s trip to the US, the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the purchase of 31 drones – 15 for the navy and eight each for the army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) – a decision that had long been pending with the government.
According to General Atomics, the MQ-9 UAV has an endurance of more than 27 hours, speeds of 240 kt, can operate out to 50,000 feet and has a payload capacity of 3,850 pounds (1,746 kg) that includes 3,000 pounds (1,361 kg) of External stores.
Once delivered and operational, these HALE UAVs can implement and enhance the IAF’s ISR capabilities. Armed with payloads, armed drones will be able to strike strategic targets in the mountains and sea domain during long endurance missions.
Following the Galwan Valley clashes in 2020, the Navy leased two MQ-9 drones and the lease has since been extended.
In November 2022, GA-ASI announced that these leased UAVs had completed 10,000 flight hours in the two-year period since its maiden flight on November 21, 2020, and helped the Indian Navy cover more than 14 million square miles of operating area.
The MQ-9 drones have been purchased by the US Air Force, US Department of Homeland Security, NASA, Royal Air Force, Italian Air Force, French Air Force and Spanish Air Force.
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