New Delhi, Aug 17 (NVI): The Ministry of Defence on Monday signed a contract with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) for leasing two MQ-9B Sea Guardian High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) to the Indian Navy for 30 months.
The contract, valued at approximately Rs 1,943 crore, was signed in the presence of Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition), Department of Defence, A Anbarasu, at Kartavya Bhawan-2 here.
The MQ-9B Sea Guardian RPAS, equipped with advanced systems, state-of-the-art sensors and sophisticated payloads, will significantly enhance the Indian Navy’s maritime domain awareness capabilities, the ministry said.
The systems will provide persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) coverage over vast areas of the maritime domain, strengthening India’s ability to monitor and respond to developments across the Indian Ocean Region, it said.
The induction of the leased platforms is expected to bolster the Navy’s capability to maintain continuous surveillance of the country’s maritime interests and enhance situational awareness across the region.—(NVI)
