One of the two MQ-9B High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), leased by the Navy from the US-based General Atomics (GA) in 2020, had to carry out a controlled ditching at sea off Chennai on Wednesday after it encountered a “technical failure” while on a routine surveillance mission.
The Navy had leased the two RPAs from the US-based GA in 2020 in the aftermath of the Galwan Valley clashes in eastern Ladakh.
As per the Navy, the RPA was operating from INS Rajali, Arakkonam near Chennai, and encountered a technical failure at about 1400 hrs Wednesday while it was on a routine surveillance mission.
The RPA, it said, could not be reset in flight. It was navigated to a safe area over sea and carried out a controlled ditching at sea off Chennai, the Navy said, adding that a detailed report has been sought from the Original Equipment Manufacturer.
The development comes at a time when India is learnt to have made significant progress in the ongoing negotiations with the US on various aspects of the deal to procure 31 MQ-9B High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) UAVs. One of them is to have a greater percentage of indigenous content in the UAVs.
The MQ-9Bs, to be assembled in India, will enhance the ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) capabilities of India’s armed forces. They can also carry out precision strikes on strategic targets in mountains and the maritime domain during long-endurance missions.
GA will also establish a Comprehensive Global MRO facility in India to support India’s long-term goals to boost indigenous defence capabilities, a joint statement issued by India and the US earlier had said.
During Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s official visit to the US last month, India and the US have agreed to advance priority co-production projects, including jet engines, unmanned platforms, munitions and ground mobility systems, under the US-India Roadmap for Defence Industrial Cooperation.
The acquisition of the MQ-9B—16 Sky Guardian and 15 Sea Guardian HALE RPAs for the Indian Armed Forces from the US through the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) route was cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council in June and was among the key announcements made in the defence sector during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s State visit to the US in June.