Defence Acquisition Council approves amendment to MQ-9B UAV deal with U.S.
- The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister, on Monday reviewed and approved amendments to the deal for procuring 31 MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)
Highlights:
- The DAC also gave approval to a proposal regarding the scheduled refit of aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya later this year.
- “The amendments approved are within the scope of the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) that was granted for the MQ-9B deal. They are related to the indigenous content and related aspects,”.
- Official sources said the U.S. has completed the process from its end with the letter of offer and acceptance to India delivered early in March and it’s now for India to complete the procedure before the deal can be signed.
- In the final step, the deal has to be approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security, before it can be inked. With the Quad leaders summit scheduled to be hosted by India in December, the MQ-9B deal and the GE-414 jet engine deal are expected to be concluded during the visit of the U.S. President to India.
- India is looking to procure 31 MQ-9B UAVs —15 Sea Guardians for the Indian Navy and 16 Sky Guardians (eight each for the Indian Army and Air Force) — at an estimated cost of $3.99 billion.
- The second AoN is for procurement of 22 Interceptor Boats for the Coast Guard with latest state-of-art system capable of quick interception and shallow water operation in territorial waters,
- the Ministry said. “These boats will be used for coastal surveillance and patrolling, search & rescue operations, including medical evacuation,” it added.
Prelims Takeaway:
- DAC
- Aatmanirbar Bharat