India-US Drone Deal: Some MQ-9Bs Could Be Built In India, Indigenous Weapon Integration Likely, Says Report

Some of the MQ-9B Guardian drones being bought from the United States could be manufactured in India.

The Hellfire anti-tank missile equipped drones, will also likely be integrated with Indian indigenously made missile and bombs.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, some of the MQ-9Bs from the total 31, for which the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has cleared the proposal for procurement, will be manufactured in India.

The drones could be likely be manufactured by multiple Indian companies like Bharat Forge and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Earlier, (in January 2023), Bharat Forge and General Atomics - Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) — manufacturer of MQ-9B — has signed a partnership to manufacture parts of the MQ-9B drones.

The partnership included manufacturing main landing gear components, subassemblies and assemblies of the drone.

Additionally, HAL has signed a deal with GA-ASI to establish a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility on the sidelines of Aero India 2023.

Furthermore, HAL will also manufacture and provide MRO support for TPE 331-5 engines. The TPE 331-5 engines powers the MQ-9Bs, as well as, Made in India HTT-40 trainer aircrafts.

According to the report, MQ-9B will likely be integrated with Indian anti-tank missile and bombs, as well.

The HT report also says that the drones will be acquired in phases with the first 10 to be unarmed ones, with the later ones equipped with laser-guided bombs and anti-tank missiles.

However, all the drones will be equipped with hard-points for carrying laser guided bombs and missiles.

Indian Navy already operates two MQ-9Bs on lease from the GA-ASI since mid-2020, after the clash at Galwan valley in easter Ladakh.

Some reports say that the Navy is highly impressed with the capabilities of the drone, so much so that the two MQ-9Bs completed 10,000 hours of flying in just two years.

Even the Indian Army utilized the drone's real-time imagery capabilities along the LAC when the Navy’s drones were deployed along the LAC to keep an eye on Chinese deployment.