Green Light For Purchase Of MQ-9B Drones This Week, Likely To Be Armed With Hellfire Munitions: Report

In a significant boost for the Indian armed forces surveillance capabilities, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is likely to give approval for the acquisition of MQ-9B Predator-B armed drones from the United States, this week, reported Livefist.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the US from 21-24 June. The US administration was pushing for the fast-track approval for this deal.

Following the approval, either the agreement or an official announcement regarding the progress of the deal may be made during the upcoming meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Joe Biden of the US.

The drones, according to the report will be equipped with AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missiles.

The Hellfire missile, weighing between 45 to 49 kilograms, is designed to engage and destroy enemy tanks and armoured vehicles at a maximum range of 10 kilometres. Indian Army and Indian Air Force operate Hellfire missile from AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, also bought from the US.

The deal for 18 MQ-9Bs is worth $1.8 billion. The Indian Navy already operates two MQ-9s, which were leased from General Atomics — MQ-9Bs manufacturer — at the peak of the standoff with the Chinese at Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Initially, the Indian armed forces had a requested to purchase 30 MQ-9s, however after a detailed Operations Research System Analysis (ORSA) following budget constraints in the wake of Covid-19, the requirement was trimmed down to first 24 and then 18.

Each service, the army, navy, and air force, will each get three airframes.

According to some reports, the navy is highly impressed with the capabilities of the drone, so much so that the two MQ-9Bs completed 10,000 hours of flying in just two years.

Even the Indian Army utilised the drone's real-time imagery capabilities along the LAC when the navy’s drones were deployed along the LAC to keep an eye on Chinese deployment.

The MQ-9A is a turboprop-powered, multi-mission RPA developed and first flown by General Atomics in 2001. It offers unmatched operational flexibility with a 27-hour endurance and speeds of 240 Knots True Airspeed (KTAS). 

Additionally, it has the ability to operate at altitudes up to 50,000 feet. It has a payload capacity of 3,850 pounds, including 3,000 pounds of external stores.