Article Posted on : - Oct 10, 2024

The MQ-9 Reaper combat drone produced by General Atomics. (Photo: PTI)

NEW DELHI (PTI): The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Wednesday approved procurement of 31 Predator long-endurance drones from the US and indigenous construction of two nuclear-powered conventional submarines with an aim to significantly enhance India's military prowess, people familiar with the matter said.

The MQ-9B 'hunter killer' drones are being procured from US defence major General Atomics under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route at a total cost of around USD 3.1 billion.

The two submarines will be built at a cost of around Rs 40,000 crore, the people cited above said.

The two mega procurement projects were cleared by the CCS chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India is acquiring the drones primarily to crank up the surveillance apparatus of the Indian Armed Forces, especially along the contested frontier with China.

In June last year, the Defence Ministry approved the procurement of the MQ-9B Predator armed drones from the US under a government-to-government framework.

The MQ-9B drone is a variant of the MQ-9 "Reaper" which was used to launch a modified version of the Hellfire missile that eliminated al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in the heart of Kabul in July 2022.

While the Indian Navy will get 15 Sea Guardian drones, the Indian Air Force and the Army will each get eight Sky Guardian drones.

The high-altitude long-endurance drones are capable of remaining airborne for over 35 hours and can carry four Hellfire missiles and around 450 kgs of bombs.

The Sea Guardian drones are being procured as they can carry out a variety of roles including maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare and over-the-horizon targeting among others.