India to acquire 31 MQ-9B drones from US
India's acquisition of 31 High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) drones from the United States will reportedly be a phased exercise and will initially involve technology absorption.
The first batch of 10 drones will be without weapons, and the establishment of three tri-service intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance command centers will focus explicitly on the country's northern borders, especially the one with China, reports said.
On June 15, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved a tri-service proposal to acquire a total of 31 drones, 15 MQ9B Sea Guardians and 16 Sky Guardian drones from the United States.
The Sea Guardian drones will be responsible for maritime surveillance and domain awareness while the Sky Guardian drones will be used for guarding the land frontiers. The acquisition, worth over 3 billion dollar, through US foreign military sales, or the government-to-government route will get a green light during Premier Narendra Modi's visit to the United States this week.
While both India and United States are poised to take an orbital leap in bilateral relations, the first consignment of drones will be limited to 10 in number with weapons and missiles following at a later stage. However, all the drones will have hardpoints or the capability to carry missiles and laser guided bombs, the people familiar with the matter said.
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