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| US Made MQ-9 Reaper Drones |
To enhance the offensive capabilities of the Indian army,
the government will purchase 10 U.S. made MQ-9 Reaper or Predator B armed UAVs
for the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force respectively.
A government
source said that the Defence Acquisition Committee (DAC), led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, is Interested in buying a Predator B armed drone, may receive the last conference call about the $3
billion deal next week.
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| US Made MQ-9 Reaper Drones or Predator B armed UAVs |
Now that
all issues have been resolved, this matter may be resolved at the next DAC
meeting. So far, these drones have only
been used for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Currently, the Indian
Navy is operating two Predator B drones that have been leased to the United States
in the Indian Ocean.
These drones can only be used for surveillance purposes.
Cannot be used for attack purposes. Once the DAC is cancelled, the Cabinet
Security Committee will give final approval to push the agreement. This
acquisition will be the first tri-service agreement after the establishment of
the post of Chief of Staff of the Ministry of National Defence to achieve the
requirements for the merger and acquisition of the tri-services.
alliance.
Later, it was decided to purchase Predator B drones for all three services. The
drone lasts for 48 hours and has a payload of 2 tons. It has 9 hardpoints that
can connect sensors, laser-guided bombs and surface-to-air missiles. India is
currently using Israeli drones, Netra and Rustom drones developed by DRDO.