India is nearing completion of a Letter of Request (LoR) for the purchase of 31 MQ-9B Reaper drones from the United States. The $3 billion transaction was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington on June 22, 2023.
The Letter of Request (LoR) is the first step in the arms contracting process between the US government and a foreign nation, followed by the Letter of Acceptance (LoA) from the US Department of Defence, which eventually leads to a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) agreement. The contract for the MQ-9B drones could be signed before the Indian government’s elections in March 2024.
How Many MQ-9B Reaper Drones to Whom?
The Indian Navy will receive 15 of the 31 drones, while the Indian Air Force and Army will each receive eight. The first ten drones will be delivered in flyaway condition four years after the contract is signed, with the rest 21 being manufactured in India. According to sources, the procurement of MQ-9B drones may require two different contracts. The first is a Performance Based Logistics Agreement, as well as the creation of an MRO facility in India.
The second deal is anticipated to be signed between General Atomics and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the indigenous design and development of High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) platforms similar to the MQ-9 that can operate at altitudes greater than 15 kilometres. The Indian Ministry of Defence also intends to outfit the MQ-9s with indigenously produced software-defined radios and indigenous missiles like the DRDO’s BVR Astra series of beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles.
The MQ-9B Reaper has a range of over 1,850 km and can stay in the air for more than 24 hours. It has nine hardpoints, allowing it to carry numerous bombs and sensors, as well as execute a variety of missions such as long-range maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, and air-to-surface strikes.
Importance of MQ-9B Reaper Drones
The purchase of these drones is a crucial step towards strengthening India’s strategic cooperation with the United States. Since 2020, the Indian Navy has been operating two MQ-9 Sea Guardians that were leased from the United States and serve an important role in monitoring the Indian Ocean and following the deployments of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in response to the Ladakh standoff with China.
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