India and the United States just signed the Rs 32,000 crore ($3.8 billion) agreement for the acquisition of 31 Predator MQ-9B drones and the establishment of a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility in India. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had approved the procurement a week earlier. Out of the 31 drones, 15 will go to the Indian Navy (IN), and 8 each to the Indian Army (IA) and the Indian Air Force (IAF). The drones are being bought under the US Foreign Military Sales contract. After years of negotiations, the urgency for signing was the validity of the US proposal was set to expire on October 31.
These procurement numbers were based on a tri-service agreement, after a comprehensive study by the Indian military. The drones will significantly enhance the operational capability of the Indian armed forces across land, sea, and air. As per the Government of India (GoI) release, the Predator drones will be stationed at four key locations: INS Rajali near Chennai, Porbandar in Gujarat, and two air bases in Uttar Pradesh — Sarsawa and Gorakhpur. The Drones will be supplied by 2027.
General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (Predator B)
The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (Predator B) is an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the United States Air Force (USAF). The MQ-9 is a larger, heavier, more capable aircraft than the earlier General Atomics MQ-1 Predator. The Reaper has the more powerful Honeywell TPE331-10 turboprop, 950-shaft-horsepower (712 kW) turboprop engine. The greater power allows the Reaper to carry 15 times more ordnance payload and cruise at about three times the speed of the MQ-1.
The aircraft is monitored and controlled, including weapons employment, by aircrew in the Ground Control Station (GCS). The MQ-9 is the first hunter-killer UAV designed for high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) surveillance. The USAF moved from using UAVs primarily in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance roles before Operation Iraqi Freedom, to a true hunter-killer role with the Reaper.
The UAS made its first flight on 2 February 2001, 23 years ago. It was introduced in USAF service in May 2007. The USAF operated over 300 MQ-9 Reapers. Total being built, including for foreign customers exceeds 430. Several MQ-9 aircraft have been retrofitted with equipment upgrades to improve performance in “high-end combat situations”, and all new MQ-9s will have those upgrades. 2035 is the projected end of the service life of the MQ-9 fleet. The MQ-9B is the latest variant, and based on mission and payload are referred to by General Atomics as SkyGuardian or SeaGuardian.
MQ-9 Sensors and Weapons
An MQ-9 can adopt various mission kits and combinations of weapon and sensor payloads to meet combat requirements. Its Raytheon AN/AAS-52 multi-spectral targeting sensor suite includes a colour/monochrome daylight TV, infrared, and image-intensified TV with laser rangefinder/laser designator to designate targets for laser guided munitions. The aircraft is also equipped with the Lynx Multi-mode Radar that contains synthetic aperture radar (SAR) that can operate in both spotlight and strip modes, and ground moving target indication (GMTI) with Dismount Moving Target Indicator (DMTI) and Maritime Wide-Area Search (MWAS) capabilities.
The MQ-9 is fitted with six storey pylons. The inner stores pylons can carry a maximum of 680 kg each and allow carriage of external fuel tanks. The mid-wing stores pylons can carry a maximum of 270 kg each, while the outer stores pylons can carry a maximum of 91 kg each. An MQ-9 with two 450 kg external fuel tanks and 450 kg of munitions has an endurance of 42 hours. It has an endurance of 14 hours when fully loaded with munitions.
The MQ-9 can be armed with a variety of weaponry, including the GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bomb, the AGM-114 Hellfire II air-to-ground missiles, the AIM-9 Sidewinder, and the GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM).
The system has 368 cameras capable of capturing five million pixels each to create an image of about 1.8 billion pixels; video is collected at 12 frames per second, producing several terabytes of data per minute.
MQ-9 Reaper Other Operational Capabilities
A typical MQ-9 system consists of multiple aircraft, ground control station, communications equipment, maintenance spares, and personnel. A military flight crew includes a pilot, sensor operator, and Mission Intelligence Coordinator.
Its endurance is 30 hours when conducting ISR missions, which decreases to 23 hours if it is carrying a full weapons load. The Reaper has a range of 1,850 km and an operational altitude of 25,000 ft (7,600 m), which makes it especially useful for long-term loitering operations, both for surveillance and support of ground troops.
Reaper crew sitting in an ops room in the USA can control the drone and sensors flying 1000s of kilometres away through satellite based communication links. It can hunt for targets and observe terrain using multiple sensors, including a thermographic camera. One claim was that the onboard camera is able to read a license plate from 3.2 km away. An operator’s command takes 1.2 seconds to reach the drone via a satellite link.
The MQ-9 can be dismantled and packed in less than eight hours, fly it anywhere in the world aboard a C-17 Globemaster III, and then have it ready to fly in another eight hours to support special operations teams at places with no infrastructure. The C-17 is large enough to carry the aircraft and support systems and can land on short runways. Pilots traveling with the Reaper will use the ground control station to launch and land the aircraft, while most of the operational tasks will be done by US-based pilots.
The Pentagon wants to upgrade the MQ-9 Reaper with directed-energy weapons such as low-powered laser and high-powered microwave beams. A high-field optical module to act on the human nervous system is also under consideration. In September 2020, GA-ASI conducted captive carry tests of the Sparrowhawk Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) on the MQ-9, with the Reaper itself acting as a drone mother-ship. The MQ-9B Sky Guardian will be able to carry up to four Sparrowhawks.
The USAF has bought 38 Reaper Extended Range (ER) versions, carrying external fuel tanks (which don’t affect weapon capacity). It has a heavy-weight landing gear, and a four-bladed propeller.
Operational Combat Engagements
USAF MQ-9 Reapers and MQ-1 Predators have been seeing action in Iraq and Afghanistan. On 28 October 2007, an MQ-9 achieved its first “kill”, firing a Hellfire missile against Afghan insurgents. In March 2008, on a single day, Reapers attacked 16 targets in Afghanistan using 500 lb (230 kg) bombs and Hellfire missiles. Beginning in September 2009, Reapers were deployed by the US Africa Command to the Seychelles islands for use in Indian Ocean anti-piracy patrols. By March 2011, the USAF had 48 Predator and Reaper combat air patrols flying in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In October 2011, the USAF began operating Reapers out of Arba Minch Airport in Ethiopia for surveillance-only operations in Somalia. In 2012, both Reapers and Predators were deployed in Benghazi, Libya after the attack that killed the US ambassador in that city. In February 2013, the U.S. stationed a Predator at Niamey to provide intelligence for French forces during Operation Serval in Mali; it was later replaced by two MQ-9 Reapers. In April 2013, one of these Reapers crashed on a surveillance flight due to mechanical failure.
On 22 October 2013, the USAF fleets of MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper UAVs reached 2,000,000 flight hours. It had taken the RPA program 16 years to reach 1 million flight hours; the 2-million-hour mark was reached just two and a half years later. On 18 September 2018, the USAF announced that an MQ-9 armed with an air-to-air missile successfully shot down a smaller target drone in November 2017.
On 13 November 2015, the Pentagon reported that an MQ-9 had killed ISIL member Mohammed Emwazi (Jihadi John), who was responsible for executing several Western prisoners. Many targeted killings were to follow. On 3 January 2020, a US MQ-9 missile strike at Baghdad International Airport killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces. During the Israel–Hamas war, at least six US MQ-9 Reapers were flown over the Gaza Strip to assist Israel with reconnaissance efforts.
Operations in Contested Environment
With a 66 ft (20 m) wingspan, and a maximum payload of 3,800 lb (1,700 kg), it is a significant sized bird. The aircraft has a maximum speed of about 260 knots (480 km/h) and a cruising speed of 150–170 knots (280–310 km/h). While these drones did a great job in the uncontested environment in Iraq and Afghanistan, their large size and slow speed make them easy targets in a contested environment as has been seen in Black Sea near Ukraine and attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea.
On 2 October 2017, US Central Command stated that an MQ-9 had been shot-down by Houthi air defense systems over Sanaa in western Yemen. On 6 June 2019, Houthis shot-down a US MQ-9 Reaper over Yemen using a SA-6 SAM. On 21 August 2019, another unarmed MQ-9 was shot-down by Houthis over Dhamar, Yemen. On 23 November 2019, a US MQ-9 Reaper was shot-down by a Pantsir system operated by the Libyan National Army over Tripoli, Libya. On 8 November 2023, Houthi rebels in Yemen shot-down a USAF MQ-9 over the Red Sea.
On 18 January 2024, the Islamic Resistance of Iraq claimed to have shot-down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone after it took off from Kuwait near Muqdadiyah, Diyala Governorate. On 19 February 2024, Houthi rebels in Yemen shot-down a USAF MQ-9 over the port city Al Hudaydah. On 25 April 2024, Houthi rebels shot-down a US MQ-9 over the Saada Governorate in Yemen. Yemen’s Houthi group shot down three US MQ-9 over Yemen in May 2024, one in August, and two in September 2024.
Based on such large shoot downs of this expensive drone in a contested environment by relatively small non-state terror groups, USAF told the US Congress that these will be very vulnerable against China’s PLAAF which is a peer air force in the Indo-Pacific.
MQ-9 India Deal a Great Asset for ISR
In November 2020, the Indian Navy began operating two leased MQ-9B SeaGuardians. The lease agreement was valid for one year and was extended subsequently. Finally, the contract has been signed. General Atomics has offered “to provide consultancy to Indian entities” to develop an advanced UAV under the deal. General Atomics is also establishing a Global MRO facility in India. The assembly of the drones is to be done in India. By value, 30 per cent of the sub components will be sourced from Indian companies though there will be no technology transfer under the agreement. The deal also includes the purchase of 170 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, 310 GBU-39 glide bombs, navigation systems, sensor suites, mobile ground control systems and future integration of Indian weapon systems like NASM-SR anti-ship missiles.
Undoubtedly, the MQ-9 will be a great asset for peace-time Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR). It will also have a significant war-time role. Especially for the Indian Navy, it will reduce the flying effort of P-8I and other surveillance systems to cover the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The IAF and Indian Army will use them for border area surveillance both in peace and war. It also has significant targeting capability. On 18 September 2024, one of the leased drones of the Indian Navy crashed into the Bay of Bengal off Chennai while attempting a controlled ditching on water due to technical failure.
Other Operators
The other MQ-9 operating countries are Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, and UK. There are many potential operators.
Way Ahead India
Indian Armed Forces already have the Israeli IAI Heron (MALE) and IAI Searcher UAS, and IAI Harop and Harpy Loitering Munitions. India’s DRDO is also developing the TAPAS-BH-201 (MALE) UAS. Indian armed forces have a huge requirement of large and medium UAVs. India needs a large number of first-person view (FPV) drones and kamikaze attack drones. Manned Unmanned Aircraft Teaming (MUMT) is an area of action.
Adani Elbit Advanced Systems India Limited is producing Hermes-900 UAVs in India. Many start-ups have entered drones and counter drone manufacturing. These include Newspace Research & Technologies, Paras Aerospace, Veda Aeronautics, Throttle Aerospace, WB Electronics India Pvt Ltd, IdeaForge, General Aeronautics, Redwing Labs, Dhaksha Unmanned Systems, UrbanMatrix Technologies, Thanos Technologies, and Auto Micro UAS, among many others.
USAF is already training over a large number of drone pilots and operators who will sit in the Ground Control Station (GCS). India will have to do the same. War in Ukraine has brought out that drone inventories have to be huge. US Armed Forces require nearly 100,000 drones a year for peace-time training itself. Iran is already producing close to 25 HESA Shahed 136 drones a day. Similar manufacturing levels will be required in India one day. Drone stocking policies have to be worked out.
India needs to accelerate the development of DRDO Ghatak stealth UCAV. Also, many drone start-ups are importing drone sub-components. The Drone Federation of India (DFI) and other defence industry bodies like Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) have to continuously interface with the government and industry to promote indigenous drone production in the country. UAS is the future. Time to act is now.
The writer is former Director General, Centre for Air Power Studies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.