Key Points
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on June 15 approved the deal for procurement of armed Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) from General Atomics of the U.S., defence sources confirmed which paves the way for an announcement during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit next week..
The DAC chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met on Thursday morning and the long pending deal for High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAVs was on the agenda, two sources said also confirming that it has been approved...
However, Navy has the most pressing requirement for these HALE platforms which will significantly enhance its maritime surveillance capability over the Indian Ocean Region while reducing the stress on the P-8I maritime patrol aircraft...
In November 2022, General Atomics announced that the RPAs completed 10,000 flight hours during a period of two years, with the maiden flight taking place on November 21, 2020 and have helped the Indian Navy to cover over 14 million square miles of operating area...
At Aero India in Bengaluru in February 2023, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and General Atomics announced that the turbo-propeller engines which power the MQ-9 will be supported by HALs engine division for the Indian market..
You might be interested in
As part of UAV deal with U.S. firm, India is expected to develop some components locally
24, Jun, 23As part of the process to conclude the deal for procurement of 31 MQ-9B armed High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), the Defence Ministry is expected to issue the Letter of Request (LoR) to the U.S. by first week of July