India Expected to Receive First Batch of MQ-9B High-Altitude Surveillance Drones in Jan 2029, Local Assembly and ToT Included in $3.5B Deal

India is poised to significantly enhance its military surveillance and strike capabilities with the acquisition of 31 MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) drones from the United States.

The first batch of these advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is expected to arrive in January 2029, marking a major step forward in the Indo-U.S. strategic defence partnership.

This landmark deal, valued at approximately $3.5 billion, was finalized under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. It stems from high-level discussions between the two nations, reflecting a shared commitment to bolstering security in the Indo-Pacific region.

The delivery of the drones is scheduled to be completed by September 2030, initiating a new era of military technology cooperation between India and the U.S.

The MQ-9B drones, comprising both Sea Guardian and Sky Guardian variants, are renowned for their exceptional capabilities. They can fly for up to 40 hours at altitudes reaching 50,000 feet, making them ideal for long-duration surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

Beyond monitoring, these UAVs possess strike capabilities, providing India with enhanced precision and effectiveness in safeguarding its vast maritime and border regions.

The Sea Guardian variant, designed for naval operations, will significantly boost the Indian Navy's maritime domain awareness, particularly in the strategically vital Indian Ocean.

Meanwhile, the Sky Guardian variant will be utilized by the Indian Army and Air Force to strengthen border surveillance along sensitive areas such as the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan.

This agreement goes beyond the acquisition of drones. It incorporates a Performance Based Logistics (PBL) contract with General Atomics, the manufacturer of the MQ-9B, for maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services within India. This provision ensures long-term support for the drone fleet and aligns with India's 'Make in India' initiative by promoting the growth of its indigenous defence industry.

Furthermore, plans are in place for some of the drones to be assembled in India, facilitating technology transfer and the development of local manufacturing expertise.

This acquisition represents a significant investment in India's defence capabilities, providing a powerful tool for safeguarding its national interests and contributing to regional security in the Indo-Pacific.

 

[Anonymus]

they are going to deliver drones after 5 years it take less time deliver an fighter jet

 

[Sathish Kumaram]

it will be outdated product by that time..good for us..may be we can cancel the order now..

 

[Satyabrata Sahoo]

Get ready for delay tactics by USA from first half of 2029.

 

[Shafted mohammed]

Great news but after 2028 if democrats come then again there would be undeclared sanctions. All in all buying with so many strings attached and so much delay is not worth it. Just get out of the deal. Too expensive put lot of money and manpower and all the sensors would be developed.

 

[op gupta]

This is the price india is paying through its "Nose" all because of incapable and inefficient Indian scientists.

 

[ryan]

Too Late & Obsolete by then. Fighters even don't take that much time. Something Fishy about the deal

 

[Swapy]

3.5 billion for only 31 drones! Too costly. With that, India can spend a good amount on R&D. Can make a weaponized version of UAV and UCAV. For AMCA, Tejas government allocated only 1.5 billion in the development program which was too crucial in defence, and these MQ9B drones 3.5 billion! That's why Russia is laughing at it. We are purchasing BMW and Audi when our budget is to purchase Maruti Suzuki... In war, these drones won't help much. India should buy TB2 category drones which are cost-effective and buy in large numbers.

I can't understand on what basis Indian negotiators agreed on these drones! They have delayed GE404/414 engines, Apache helos, no make in India deals. Still, India didn't learn the lesson. We have not dared to use penalty clauses also.

 

[Rinku Pandey]

Great news but after 2028 if democrats come then again there would be undeclared sanctions. All in all buying with so many strings attached and so much delay is not worth it. Just get out of the deal. Too expensive put lot of money and manpower and all the sensors would be developed.

This deal was signed by Democrats not by Dolandji.

 

[Bhishma]

This is a useless deal. Just scrap it and get the Hermes being locally produced already. We are going to face serious turmoil in our region and this drone is not even ready. What kind of effing deal is that? China is barely recovering. Trump tightened the screws. China has two options to get back. A) Invasion of Taiwan. B) Dumping their $4T dollars & blatant challenge to USD. Both of these moves will destabilize our region. Which means we need the drones next year. Not 5 years from now. We need to go for a mix of Tapas + Hermes. Whatever missions Tapas can do, use it. Rest, use Hermes. Scrap this deal.

 

[Bhishma]

This is the price india is paying through its "Nose" all because of incapable and inefficient Indian scientists.

Problem is not the scientists

 

[op gupta]

Problem is not the scientists

America built the RQ-4 Global Hawk that can fly at 60,000 feet for 30 hours non-stop in 1998, but India, even after 25 years of research and development, is unable to build a drone that can fly at 30,000 feet for 24 hours. Whose fault is this?

 

[Anant]

Too Late & Obsolete by then. Fighters even don't take that much time. Something Fishy about the deal

Nothing fishy. They do have other orders they have to fulfill too. Belgium, Canada, Greece, and Poland have a combined order of 21 drones before ours.

The MQ-9 is not built in very massive numbers. As such, with a limited annual production run, we have to wait. As it stands, it is expected drones for India will go into production in 2027.

 

[Arin Kumar]

Okay, no problem keep delaying this deal or whatever for this MQ-9 drone. No problem.

Kindly deliver on time or ahead of time (if possible) the GE F414 Engines for our Tejas Mk 2.

All other drama can wait.

 

[Arin Kumar]

3.5 billion for only 31 drones! Too costly. With that, India can spend a good amount on R&D. Can make a weaponized version of UAV and UCAV. For AMCA, Tejas government allocated only 1.5 billion in the development program which was too crucial in defence, and these MQ9B drones 3.5 billion! That's why Russia is laughing at it. We are purchasing BMW and Audi when our budget is to purchase Maruti Suzuki... In war, these drones won't help much. India should buy TB2 category drones which are cost-effective and buy in large numbers.

I can't understand on what basis Indian negotiators agreed on these drones! They have delayed GE404/414 engines, Apache helos, no make in India deals. Still, India didn't learn the lesson. We have not dared to use penalty clauses also.

These drones have certain capabilities that are not present in any other drones in the market. Hence the price.

In the short (2 years) to medium (5-7 years) term, it is impossible for India to come up with a drone of similar capabilities as the MQ-9 Reaper.

We don't have the brains or the manpower.

 

[vinod nair]

It's a waste if we can develop UCAV by then, and if not, then DRDO is a waste.

 

[Aravind]

I think it's completely a waste because, in that timeline, even Pakistan can easily obtain them from other nations and place the direct energy weapons on them. Now, costly MALE drones can't create any impact, only cheap MALE drones are playing vital roles. In one word, by 2029 this drone is outdated technology.

 

[Hari Sud]

Are you sure that in 5 years, these become outdated technologically. The technology is developing very fast.

 

[Dredd]

These drones have certain capabilities that are not present in any other drones in the market. Hence the price.

In the short (2 years) to medium (5-7 years) term, it is impossible for India to come up with a drone of similar capabilities as the MQ-9 Reaper.

We don't have the brains or the manpower.

We have examples of startups like IdeaForge and others excelling in drones. We should fund them for R&D of MALE and HALE UAVs instead of ADE.

 

[Dredd]

3.5 billion for only 31 drones! Too costly. With that, India can spend a good amount on R&D. Can make a weaponized version of UAV and UCAV. For AMCA, Tejas government allocated only 1.5 billion in the development program which was too crucial in defence, and these MQ9B drones 3.5 billion! That's why Russia is laughing at it. We are purchasing BMW and Audi when our budget is to purchase Maruti Suzuki... In war, these drones won't help much. India should buy TB2 category drones which are cost-effective and buy in large numbers.

More than price it's the delivery timelines which is cause of concern, 4 year after signing contract is inexcusable.

 

[Arin Kumar]

This is a useless deal. Just scrap it and get the Hermes being locally produced already. We are going to face serious turmoil in our region and this drone is not even ready. What kind of effing deal is that? China is barely recovering. Trump tightened the screws. China has two options to get back. A) Invasion of Taiwan. B) Dumping their $4T dollars & blatant challenge to USD. Both of these moves will destabilize our region. Which means we need the drones next year. Not 5 years from now. We need to go for a mix of Tapas + Hermes. Whatever missions Tapas can do, use it. Rest, use Hermes. Scrap this deal.

It is not produced locally, it is only being assembled locally by Adani. the IAI is doing this so that they dont have to pay import tax and get funds under "Make in India". No subcomponent of this drone is manufactured in India

 

[Arin Kumar]

We have examples of startups like IdeaForge and others excelling in drones. We should fund them for R&D of MALE and HALE UAVs instead of ADE.

Even if we fund them and assuming they succeed, we need to compare our performance with the performance of the world's best drones to be sure we are on the same league.

It is true IdeaForge drones are really good. But we need at least 2 more companies like IdeaForge, so that there is internal competition among private players in India.

 

[Arin Kumar]

This is the price india is paying through its "Nose" all because of incapable and inefficient Indian scientists.

It is not just Indian scientists - it is the problem of mindset of the general public of India. We, indians are much less risk taking compared to the Americans or the Asians.

This is true for Indian bureaucrats, indian politicians, indian parents and Indian Children.

We are not risk takers.

 

[Bhishma]

America built the RQ-4 Global Hawk that can fly at 60,000 feet for 30 hours non-stop in 1998, but India, even after 25 years of research and development, is unable to build a drone that can fly at 30,000 feet for 24 hours. Whose fault is this?

There's a big import lobby. They plant their agents and sabotage at every level. If you have worked in a big organization, you will understand the dynamics.

It improves through iteration. Tapas was able to achieve 28k feet/18H. If there was more money put into it and rapidly iterate, then it will improve. But there are some underlying forces sabotaging it. Even if we get the best geniuses in the world, if we dont fix this, nothing will happen. Why blame the scientists. Scientists are the convenient scapegoats to hide the real culprits.

Why is our missile program so advanced ? We are one of the few countries to achieve hypersonic. Whereas in the drone sector, the development is abysmal. Drone tech is not hitech, if there is will we can achieve it.

 

[Bhishma]

It is not produced locally, it is only being assembled locally by Adani. the IAI is doing this so that they dont have to pay import tax and get funds under "Make in India". No subcomponent of this drone is manufactured in India

It's still better than getting the MQ-9s. If we place enough orders, we can keep replacing the components one by one. We can license-produce the components locally.

What is your source for your claim? If we are getting 100% subcomponents imported, then they might as well manufacture it in Israel. Note that they are making the drones in India & importing it to Israel for their own use. Why would they do that? Which means your claim does not hold good. So tell me, which components are made in Israel, which components are made in India, what is their percentage split, and what is your source.