Defense deal worth 32 thousand crore rupees between America and India has been finalized on Tuesday. Under this, India will buy 31 Predator (MQ-9B Hunter Killer Drone) drones from America. This is a variant of the American MQ-9 Reaper drone.
These drones will be given to all three armies. A facility will be built in the country for its maintenance and repair. A defense official told news agency ANI that senior officials from both countries signed the deal on Tuesday.
The deal was finalized at a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week. India has done this with America a week before the US election.
15 drones will be distributed between the Navy and the rest of the Army-Air Force America's General Atomics will give this drone to India. They will be deployed at INS Raja's Chennai, Porbandar and Sarasava in Gujarat. Apart from this, he will also be deployed in Gorakhpur of UP. Indian Navy to get 15 Sea Guardian drones Air Force and Army will get 8 such drones each.
Aljawahiri, armed with a Hellfire missile, was killed by this
- The MQ-9B Predator drone is a variant of the MQ-9 Reaper drone. Hellfire missiles can be launched from Reaper drones. The Americans killed al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri in Kabul in July 2022 with this Hellfire missile.
- This drone can stay in the air for about 35 hours. This is completely remote controlled. This requires two people. Once in flight it can monitor an area of 1900 km. It can fly 482 kilometers in an hour. Its wingspan is 65 feet 7 inches and its height is 12 feet 6 inches.
The MQ-9B will monitor China's every move along the LAC border
- India intends to deploy MQ-9B drones across all three armed forces, land, sea and air. General Atomics, the company that makes this drone, claims that it is multi-talented.
- Apart from spying, surveillance, information gathering, the company says it can be used for air support, relief-rescue operations and preventing attacks.
- There are two variants of this drone, the Sky Guardian and its sibling the Sea Guardian. India is buying these drones for two reasons. first- To monitor the area along the LAC without getting any signal to China. Second- To stop China's incursion in the South China Sea.
Consumption in Somalia, Yemen and Libya During the 'War on Terror', America deployed Predator and Reaper drones in Afghanistan as well as in the northern tribal areas of Pakistan. US drones are also deployed in Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, Libya and Syria. It was the Reaper drone that America used to track Osama bin Laden of Al Qaeda. After which Navy SEALs killed bin Laden on May 2, 2011 in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
