Mit Blick auf China und Pakistan beschleunigt Indien den Vertrag über 31 US-amerikanische „Hunter-Killer“-Drohnen

Submission Statement:
With both China and Pakistan bolstering their fleets of armed drones, India is fast-tracking negotiations for the acquisition of 31 weaponised MQ-9B `hunter-killer’ remotely-piloted aircraft from the US, with the somewhat ambitious aim to ink the mega deal by November-December this year.

STAGE:
Techno-commercial discussions for the inter-governmental contract for the 31 armed high-altitude, long endurance drones “are in an advanced stage now”, with 15 Sea Guardians earmarked for Navy and 8 Sky Guardians each for Army and IAF, defence ministry sources told TOI.

PRICE:
While the US has put a price tag of $3.9 billion (over Rs 33,500 crore) for the 31 weaponised MQ-9B drones and associated equipment, including 170 Hellfire missiles, 310 GBU-39B precision-guided glide bombs, navigation systems, sensor suites and mobile ground control systems, the Indian negotiating team is working to bring the costs down.

ASSEMBLY:
Under the deal, the drones will be assembled in India, while General Atomics will also source some components from Indian companies as well as set up a global MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul) facility here.

USSAGE PLAN:
The plan is to deploy the fighter-size drones at ISR command and control centres at Arakkonam and Porbandar for the Indian Ocean region and Sarsawa and Gorakhpur for the land borders. “With their long-distance hunting and killing capabilities, such drones are required at a time when China’s naval forays into the IOR are only going to increase further,” an officer said.