MQ-9B Reaper Superior to TAPAS UAV for Indian Navy's Extended Range and Endurance Needs, Says Vice Chief

In a statement that highlights the challenges faced by India's indigenous defence industry, Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Vice Chief of the Indian Navy, announced Tuesday that the US-made MQ-9B Reaper drones are better suited to the Navy's maritime surveillance needs than the domestically developed TAPAS UAV.

The MQ-9B Reaper, produced by General Atomics, boasts extended range and endurance capabilities crucial for monitoring vast oceanic expanses, a key requirement for the Indian Navy. This contrasts with the TAPAS (Tactical Airborne Platform for Aerial Surveillance) drone, developed by the DRDO, which has reportedly fallen short of the Navy's operational expectations.

"The TAPAS drones in its current form do not entirely meet our requirements," Vice Admiral Swaminathan stated at a press conference preceding the Navy's 'Swavlamban' seminar on innovation and indigenization. He emphasized the need for a platform capable of sustained surveillance over wide maritime areas, a capability where TAPAS appears to have faltered.

This assessment comes on the heels of a significant $4 billion deal finalized last week between India and the US for the procurement of 31 MQ-9B Predator drones. This acquisition will see 15 units allocated to the Indian Navy, with the Army and Air Force each receiving eight.

While acknowledging the "very good capability" of TAPAS, the Vice Chief admitted that it requires further refinement to align with the Navy's specific needs. He stressed the necessity for multiple versions and variants to achieve full combat capability.

Despite the shortcomings of TAPAS, the Vice Chief expressed hope for its future development, stating, "We hope the next version of TAPAS will be much better … We look forward to that day when we can make such drones like the MQ-9B and maybe TAPAS is the right way to go." He confirmed that the Navy will continue to provide feedback to DRDO to aid in the ongoing development of the TAPAS program.

This situation underscores the complex balance between promoting indigenous defence production and fulfilling immediate operational requirements. While India strives for self-reliance in defence technology, the need to address pressing security concerns, particularly in the context of increasing Chinese naval activity in the Indian Ocean Region, necessitates the acquisition of proven and readily available systems like the MQ-9B Reaper.

 

[Deepak Hegde]

First honest admission from a user ! Hope they do not dismiss him from service for speaking the truth !!

 

[Anant]

First honest admission from a user ! Hope they do not dismiss him from service for speaking the truth !!

Why would they? If anything, this should be encouragement for Indian players to reach higher benchmarks.

 

[Rinne Tensei]

This can't be a navy chief's statement, this is a propaganda. Tapas is piston engine powered while MQ9 is a turbo-prop which is basically a jet engine with propellers. Both are of different segments.

 

[M S Chatterji]

First trial of Tapas was so so. Subsequent development and iteration will succeed. The west has been at arms manufacture business for last 200 years. They will be ahead unless you reverse engineer like the Chinese. Well Chinese know it well that their products are cheap but second class.

 

[RG]

That is fine, TAPAS might not be capable in all regime, but buy and use it in areas it has capability and slowly develop its capability. Rome was not built in a day. you got MQ - use it beyond the capability of TAPAS. you cannot develop domestic capability by rejecting and importing all the times.

 

[Man-ju]

If the Navy says this then it means something. Navy has been the flag bearer of indegenisation, Sad that we are still lagging behind in drone technology despite being MTCR member.

 

[NSR]

Indeed true, is there any doubt at all?

MQ-9B is the world's Gold Standard ISR and attack UAV.
No wonder why India has to wait so long but reassure everyone that it is wise choice even though it is expensive to acquire.

Great decision India as it can also drop sonobuoys to detect enemy submarines in faraway places.
But be careful about where you go with it as Houthis managed to down it when it came into their field of view.

Very good acquisition decision by India indeed.

 

[Bhishma]

This ofcourse is BS. Ask them to give a feature checklist. Make a tick mark if MQ-9 or Tapas have that capability. Then in the last column fill the %age of times you require that capability. I'm pretty sure atleast 80% of the time, Tapas would be sufficient. Then shouldnt we go for a mix strategy ?

They never gave an opportunity for indigenous tech to grow. This would have created job opportunities and driven the economy. Which means more taxes and as a consequence more funding. They will have backing of the voters because slashing funds means losing jobs. Instead what we are doing is driving the foreign economies.

An objective leadership with full accountability would have provided a checklist like this. Instead of saying "it does not meet requirements". There is requirement for drones in all sizes and shapes. I dont buy their argument that "its not good enough".

 

[Bhishma]

First trial of Tapas was so so. Subsequent development and iteration will succeed. The west has been at arms manufacture business for last 200 years. They will be ahead unless you reverse engineer like the Chinese. Well Chinese know it well that their products are cheap but second class.

In war time, these players will either wash their hands off or jack up the prices. Those birds will drop dead like flies in no time. What will we do then

 

[Bhishma]

If the Navy says this then it means something. Navy has been the flag bearer of indegenisation, Sad that we are still lagging behind in drone technology despite being MTCR member.

Even more sad, we can drive a drone in moon and not in our own skies

 

[Dredd]

That is fine, TAPAS might not be capable in all regime, but buy and use it in areas it has capability and slowly develop its capability. Rome was not built in a day. you got MQ - use it beyond the capability of TAPAS. you cannot develop domestic capability by rejecting and importing all the times.

That crash killed all hope of tapas.

 

[PKPRS]

Even Hezbollah and Houthis make good UAV's that fly Thousands of Kilometers.

 

[Anant]

This ofcourse is BS. Ask them to give a feature checklist. Make a tick mark if MQ-9 or Tapas have that capability. Then in the last column fill the %age of times you require that capability. I'm pretty sure atleast 80% of the time, Tapas would be sufficient. Then shouldnt we go for a mix strategy ?

They never gave an opportunity for indigenous tech to grow. This would have created job opportunities and driven the economy. Which means more taxes and as a consequence more funding. They will have backing of the voters because slashing funds means losing jobs. Instead what we are doing is driving the foreign economies.

An objective leadership with full accountability would have provided a checklist like this. Instead of saying "it does not meet requirements". There is requirement for drones in all sizes and shapes. I dont buy their argument that "its not good enough".

You do know the Navy is buying a bunch of Tapas drones as well, right? The simple fact of the matter is that sometimes, 80% isn't enough. If my operational need is a drone that can patrol, say, an area of 1 lakh square km, then a drone that can manage 75,000 square km isn't going to be optimal with the same launch point.

 

[Anant]

Folks, please do remember that the Navy is supporting the Tapas program. They have ordered 4 drones, while the Air Force has ordered 6. Both forces have also reported that they will essentially triple their orders if performance parameters can be improved by a fair bit.

Every armed force has a set of operational requirements, and you have to fulfill those to the bare minimum at the least.

 

[Kira]

IN is right to induct the Sea Guardians alongside more Poseidons in the future,as they need that extra capability afforded by these American drones. As I have mentioned before though,I don't see great sense for the other 2 services to acquire any, especially the IAF as they can easily could have kept that money for other crucial assets.

 

[abhinav srivastava]

15 units will not be adequate for vast maritime area of interest for a country like ours. Improvise, provide feedback and ask DRDO to come up with a new design.

 

[Akhil]

What an illogical statement. Tapas is piston engine, cheap drone while MQB9 is turbo prop highly expensive drone. It's like saying Shahed drones/Geran2 are not comparable to Reaper. No sh@t Sherlock!

I refuse to believe this is real statement by Navy chief but if it is, shows complete lack of understanding modern attrition based long warfare or our defense doctrine still thinks era of long wars is gone.

Ukraine war is still going on. West is rearming. There are engine backlogs, jet backlogs. How can anyone really think, era of long protected wars is foregone? Or Naval vice-chief thinks one can use Bugatti in place of tractor?

 

[Krishnendu Chatterjee]

1. Tapas failed to operate at designated altitude. Overweight.
2. Tapas cannot endure minimum of 24 hrs. in air. Ascribed to archaic piston engine
Are these shortcomings insurmountable?

 

[Shrujanam Syama]

First honest admission from a user ! Hope they do not dismiss him from service for speaking the truth !!

This is obvious fact. Tapas was not meant for Navy as navy requires ultra sensitive sensors to determine small signatures of submarine periscopes and carbon dioxide emissions from submarines. Tapas doesn't have enough payload for that.

 

[Taus Melek]

Even after all these years and ridiculous amount of time and money, Tapas is a big joke. Even countries like Turkey and Iran, who were late to party, have overtaken India. These state run defence companies need root and branch change ASAP!

 

[RG]

That crash killed all hope of tapas.

Crash will keep happening, there is a risk in every project. Every failure is a stepping stone. there have been some MQ9 crash to, did it kill this project.