The Ministry of Defence has signed a contract with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) to lease two MQ-9B Sea Guardian High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for the Indian Navy.
The 30-month lease agreement, valued at approximately ₹1,943 crore, was signed on Monday at Kartavya Bhawan-2 in New Delhi in the presence of Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition), Department of Defence, Shri A. Anbarasu.
The MQ-9B Sea Guardian systems are equipped with advanced sensors, sophisticated payloads and state-of-the-art surveillance capabilities. Their induction on lease is expected to significantly strengthen the Indian Navy’s Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) capabilities.
The remotely piloted aircraft will provide persistent Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) coverage across vast maritime areas, enabling enhanced monitoring of developments in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
The lease is aimed at bolstering the Navy’s ability to maintain continuous surveillance over the maritime domain and improve its capacity to detect, track and respond to emerging developments at sea.
