Page 19 - ADT NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2021 Online Magazine

Building force, while the Sea Guardians will be operated [ AIR SYSTEMS ]

by the navy. The acquisition of high-end U.S.
supplied armed drones, soon to be inducted
MH-60R helicopters and the ongoing induction
of P-8I maritime patrol aircraft will dramatically
enhance the airborne surveillance capability of
the Indian Navy.

Approved Acquisition
The procurement proposal for the armed
Capability Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE)
drones is presently being reviewed by the
NEW PATROL AIRCRAFT, UNMANNED DRONES Defence Procurement Board (DPB), following
AND HELICOPTERS ARE BEING INDUCTED INTO which it will be vetted by the Defence Acquisition
Council (DAC), which is led by Defence Minister
THE INDO-PACIFIC REGION Rajnath Singh. The advanced drone systems
are on offer to very few U.S. defence partners
and signifies a major advance in the sale of
Atul Chandra advanced defence equipment to India.

India is accelerating the acquisition and induction of advanced Indian media had reported in November 2020,
manned and unmanned platforms as it seeks to enhance its sur- that two MQ-9B ("M" is the U.S. DoD desig-
veillance capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region. Other nations in the nation for multi-role, "Q" means RPAS and "9"
region are also inducting new types as they seek to modernise their indicates it is the ninth in the series of RPAS
military capabilties. India is soon expected to finalise its USD3 bil- developed) SeaGuardian remotely-piloted air-
lion procurement of 20 Sky Guardian and 10 Sea Guardian drones craft systems (RPAS) had been taken on lease
from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI). The 20 by the Indian Navy for a period of one year.
Sky Guardians will be divided equally between the army and the air The MQ-9B offers all-weather capability and

ASIAN DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY November / December 2021 | 19