TSAMTO, February 28. According to the Hindustan Times, India has postponed plans to purchase 30 armed MQ-9B Predator UAVs in the United States due to the prohibitively high cost and the intention to focus on national development and production.
Although the government of Narendra Modi banned the import of UAVs on February 9, the acquisition of unmanned aerial vehicles for the defense and security sectors does not fall under these restrictions, but still requires special permits. According to a source of the publication in the government, at the moment the deal on "Predator" is stopped.
It is expected that the ban imposed by the Indian government in early February on the purchase of foreign-made UAVs should support efforts to develop the national defense industry. At the same time, the import of UAVs for research and development, defense and security sectors does not fall under this ban.
The Indian Navy Command planned to purchase 30 armed Predator UAVs from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) for all types of aircraft (10 each for the Navy, Air Force and SV) with an estimated cost of at least $ 3 billion. Earlier, the Indian Navy had already leased two Predator reconnaissance UAVs from GA-ASI and used them to conduct reconnaissance at sea and near the borders with China and Pakistan.
The decision to postpone the acquisition of Predator was made due to the fact that India has its own capabilities for the development and production of armed UAVs. Currently, Israeli Heron UAVs are also being modernized in order to equip them with weapons. In addition, the cost of the Predator UAV with a combat load, including missiles and bombs, is about $ 100 million per unit, which is a significant amount in terms of limited defense spending.
The Defense Research and Development Organization of the Indian Defense Ministry (DRDO) is expected to present a draft of a national medium-altitude long-duration UAV (MALE) no later than March. In addition, the project of a promising high-altitude reconnaissance UAV belonging to the class of pseudo-satellites (HAPS) is being considered. Earlier, India has already demonstrated its capabilities in the field of UAV swarm production.
In addition to DRDO, private Indian companies are also developing UAVs, which should become a cheaper alternative to the "Predator".
While the Indian Navy and the Indian Navy widely use drones to collect information, the Air Force command was skeptical about the use of the "Predator" in overloaded airspace, as well as in the presence of radar and SAMs in the territory of Kashmir occupied by Pakistan. The Air Force is in favor of purchasing more fighters.
