India may buy MQ-9 UAVs that killed Al-Qaeda chief al-Zawahiri

NEW DELHI:  India is likely to enter into a billion-dollar deal with the US to buy MQ-9 Reaper drones, which fall in the category of hunter-killer Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). They are considered the world’s most dangerous as they use laser-guided Hellfire missiles for precision strikes. The drone was reportedly used to kill Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Sources said their purchase is one of the proposals listed for discussion in the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meet scheduled on Thursday. Defence minister Rajnath Singh heads the DAC, which includes his junior ministers and the chiefs of three services, besides the defence secretary and other top officials of the ministry of defence.

The UAV is used for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and precision attacks. It can be controlled both from a ground station and a ship. According to sources, the government plans to buy 30 MQ-9s — 10 each for the three services.

The MQ-9 Reaper, manufactured by General Atomics, will be bought through the Foreign Military Sales route used by the US for government-to-government deals. Sources said though the drone has been acknowledged as a tri-service requirement in India and the deal has been under discussion for some time, it was not brought to the DAC earlier as there was no scope for local production because the US manufacturer refused to share its knowhow for a Make-in-India component.

Another factor was its high cost. Sources said the government looked at other options but nothing came anywhere close to the MQ-9. As a result, General Atomics will continue to provide spares and service the UAVs. The Indian Navy had acquired two MQ-9s on a two-year lease in 2017. They were being operated for surveillance in the Indian Ocean. Sources said the Indian Navy has initiated its proposal for acquiring a larger number of MQ-9 Reapers.