India fast-tracks deal for US ‘hunter-killer’ drones

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 Nov-Dec this year.
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 eight Sky Guardians each for Army and IAF, defence ministry sources said.
This comes at a time when China, which continues its military confrontation in eastern Ladakh for the fifth straight year, has stepped-up supplies of its armed Cai Hong-4 and Wing Loong-II drones to Pakistan. “Pakistan has sought 16 more armed CH-4 drones from China. It already has seven CH-4 drones in the Army and three in Navy,” a source said.
The MQ-9B Reaper or Predator-B drones, designed to fly for around 40 hours at altitudes over 40,000-feet for surveillance and armed with Hellfire air-to-ground missiles and smart bombs for precision strikes, are considered far superior to Chinese armed drones.
The operational utility of the MQ-9B drones has been reinforced by extensive ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) missions being undertaken by the two unarmed Sea Guardian drones - taken on lease from US firm General Atomics - both over the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) as well as along the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control with China.
While the US has put a price tag of $3.9 billion (over £3.35 bn) 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.
“The price and terms offered by the US govt and General Atomics to other countries are being taken into account. All efforts are under way to conclude the deal within this calendar year after the final nod from the cabinet committee on security,” a source said.