US approves deal for MQ-9B drones: How this is a game changer for India's defences

It’s finally a done deal. The United States on Thursday (1 February) approved the sale of 31 MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) and related equipment to India at an estimated cost of $3.99 billion (Rs 33,060 crore). “The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of India of MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of $3.99 billion. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today,” the DSCA said in a release. Notably, the deal for the drones comes amid reports that the sale was being held up over the alleged assassination attempt on Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. A News18 report states that officials quashed rumours that the fate of the deal was hanging in the balance of the Pannun inquiry. The officials said that the matter is irrelevant and hardly affects the important bilateral relationship between both nations. But what are these MQ-9B drones? And how will they be beneficial to India? Salient features of MQ-9B drones The MQ-9B drones, manufactured by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, is the first hunter-killer unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for long-endurance and high-altitude surveillance. The drones are 11 metres long and has a wingspan of over 22 metres. They boast of an endurance of over 27 hours, and can operate up to 50,000 feet. Moreover, they have a 240 Knots True Airspeed (KTAS) and a 1,746 kg payload capacity, including 1,361 kg of external stores. The drone is equipped to carry multiple mission payloads including Electro-optical/Infrared (EO/IR), Lynx multi-mode Radar, multi-mode maritime surveillance radar, Electronic Support Measures (ESM), laser designators, and various weapons and payload packages. The UAV is remotely operated by a two-member crew, comprising the pilot and an aircrew member to operate the sensors and weapons. As per the US Air Force, the Reaper is capable of employing “eight laser-guided missiles, air-to-ground missile-114 Hellfire, which possess highly accurate, low-collateral damage, anti-armour and anti-personnel engagement capabilities.” The predecessor of Reaper, the Predator, came to be known for its use during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, where it caused a high number of civilian casualties in “precision strikes”, notes The Guardian. The RQ-1/MQ-1Predator was retired by the USAF in 2017, with Reaper becoming the forces’ primary unmanned aircraft. [caption id=“attachment_13681652” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] FILE PHOTO: A model MQ-9B manufactured by General Atomics. The drone is the first hunter-killer unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for long-endurance and high-altitude surveillance. File image/Reuters[/caption] Countries using MQ-9B Currently, the Reaper drones are in use by the US forces, NASA, the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force, the Italian Air Force, the French Air Force and the Spanish Air Force. Japan also inducted the MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones in April last year. A report published in The Guardian states that the UK Air Force has deployed these drones for at least 2,400 missions in Iraq and Syria between the years of 2014 and 2018. Notably, Iranian general Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq in January 2020, which was believed to have been conducted by an MQ-9 Reaper drone. Another version of this drone, the MQ-9A Reaper, was used to kill Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul in 2022. India’s long-pending deal for MQ-9B drones Prior to India’s purchase of the MQ-9B drones, the country’s Navy was operating two unarmed SeaGuardian drones on lease since 2020. For the unaware, the SeaGuardian drone is the maritime variant of the MQ-9B.

The deal has been in the works for the past five years or so and on 15 June 2023, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) cleared the procurement of 31 MQ-9B UAVs from GA, including 15 Sea Guardians for the Indian Navy and eight Sky Guardians each for the Indian Army and Air Force, at an estimated cost of $3,072 million though the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route. This development came right before Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Washington for his first US State visit. Following this, in September 2023, ahead of the Modi-Biden meeting in New Delhi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, India issued the formal request to the US government for the drones, sending a detailed letter of request (LoR). It is reported that once the deal is finalised, the deliveries will begin in three years — ie 2027. [caption id=“attachment_13681662” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] US president Joe Biden speaks with PM Narendra Modi at the G20 Summit opening session in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. The two leaders have been conducting extensive talks on the sale of the drone, which has finally been approved. File image/Reuters[/caption] A boost for India But why is it that India wants these drones? With its long-endurance, persistent surveillance and strike capability, the MQ-9 Reapers can enhance the Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of India’s Armed Forces. According to the US Air Force, these drones are primarily used as an “intelligence-collection asset and secondarily against dynamic execution targets”. “Given its significant loiter time, wide-range sensors, multi-mode communications suite, and precision weapons, it provides a unique capability to perform strike, coordination, and reconnaissance against high-value, fleeting, and time-sensitive targets,” the USAF said. As per Times of India, these Predator B drones can help India in long-range surveillance and strike capabilities both in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and on the land borders. Citing Indian military planners, India Today said in a report in January 2023 that armed drones can help Indian forces to “launch remote-controlled operations and surgical strikes, such as on terrorist hideouts in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, and engage targets on the Himalayan borders with China.” This increased reconnaissance will be useful as India continues to have strained relations with neighbouring countries, Pakistan and China. With inputs from agencies