News Brief
Indian Navy's MQ-9B Drones Seen In Satellite Imagery For The First Time; Were Leased After Clashes With China In Ladakh
- The Indian Navy has leased two MQ-9B drones from General Atomics at the peak of tensions with China in eastern Ladakh.
Satellite image of Indian Naval Station Rajali in Tamil Nadu shows MQ-9 SeaGuardian UAVs onsite. (@detresfa_/Twitter)
The two MQ-9B drones leased by the Indian Navy from US defence major General Atomics have been spotted in satellite imagery for the first time.
The drones were leased at the peak of the tensions between India and China in eastern Ladakh and arrived at INS Rajali sometime in November 2020.
The lease of the two non-weaponised drones came in the midst of India's plans to procure up to 30 weaponised versions of the Sea Guardian drones from the US to bolster the Navy's overall surveillance capabilities in the Indian Ocean amid an increase in Chinese presence in the region.
"The maritime variant of MQ-9B, SeaGuardian, can be configured with cross-domain capabilities for a vast range of maritime surveillance operations, including Anti-Surface Warfare, Anti-Submarine Warfare and Search and Rescue," maker General Atomics says on its website.
