India marked an arrangement with the US State Office on Tuesday to purchase 31 equipped MQ-9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian High Elevation Long Perseverance (Robust) drones, the South Asian country’s protection service said.
The agreement comes after talks that began in 2018. It is consistent with US efforts to persuade India not to purchase Russian military equipment and to combat China’s growing dominance and is expected to significantly enhance India’s surveillance and intelligence capabilities.
The procurement was approved in February by the Pentagon and India’s apex defense body prior to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington.
Reuters reported last year that the navy will primarily use the drones in the Indian Ocean Region.
India’s long-term opponents, China and Pakistan, have refined air protection frameworks that can restrict the utilization of robots along India’s territory borders, added the report.
