Following a technical malfunction during a surveillance mission, a MQ-9B SeaGuardian remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), which the Indian military was leasing from the US, crashed in the Bay of Bengal on Wednesday, according to the navy.
An airplane that makes an emergency water landing is referred to as “ditching.” According to the Hindustan Times, the high-altitude long-endurance RPA is irreparable and will be written off.
The navy leased two MQ-9B drones four years ago to improve its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities in the large Indian Ocean region (IOR). The drones are operated from naval air station Rajali in Tamil Nadu and are a variation of the Predator B drones made by US company General Atomics.
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“A high-altitude long endurance remotely piloted aircraft (HALE RPA) leased by the Indian Navy operating from INS Rajali, Arakkonam (near Chennai) encountered a technical failure at about 1400 hrs whilst on a routine surveillance mission which could not be reset in flight,” the navy said in a statement.
It claimed that the RPA maneuvered to a safe region and conducted a controlled ditching at sea off Chennai, and that a thorough report had been requested from General Atomics, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
According to people with knowledge of the situation, the OEM has been operating the two RPAs on lease to give the navy guaranteed surveillance over the large area. According to the agreement, the OEM will now need to replace the lost RPA with a new one in order to satisfy the demands of the navy, they continued.