Government Nears Deal For 31 MQ-9B Drones From US, Amidst Setback In Indigenous Tapas UAV Programme After Major Crash

Ahead of the scheduled meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden on 8 September, India has formally initiated the process of acquiring 31 MQ-9B Guardian armed drones from the United States.

According to reports, India has formally sent a letter of request to US government for 31 of these General Atomics-made medium altitude long-endurance (MALE) drones.

Once received, the US government and the Defence Ministry will negotiate and finalise the 'Letter of Offer and Acceptance' (LOA).

This LOA will outline the details of the equipment and terms of the procurement, and the price and terms offered by the US government including training, training materials, and supply of spare parts.

Merely three months ago, on 15 June, just ahead of Prime Minister Modi's visit to the United States, the Defence Acquisition Council, led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, granted approval for the acquisition of 16 Sky Guardian and 15 Sea Guardian MALE drones.

The estimated cost of these drones, as per the Defence Ministry, is $3.072 billion. However, the final pricing will be subject to approval by the US government.

Furthermore, the Defence Ministry aims to conclude negotiations for this deal by the end of this year, or at the latest, by the conclusion of this fiscal year.

This comes after India suffered a major setback in its indigenous MALE development programme after the Defence Research and Dvelopment Organisation developed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) — Tapas — crashed just a fortnight ago (on 20 August).

The UAV, capable of flying for more than 18 hours at altitudes of over 28,000 ft was undergoing user trials by the Indian Armed Forces.

Tapas is capable of carrying various electronic intelligence, communication intelligence, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance payloads, allowing the UAV to monitor enemy movements for an extended period of time.

The Indian Armed Forces have shown willingness to initially acquire 76 production variants of Tapas. The Indian Army will operate 60, the Indian Air Force will operate 12, and the Indian Navy will operate four.