MQ9B drone

• The United States has approved the sale of 31 MQ9B drone to India.
• The Defence Security Cooperation Agency has said that the US State department gave the approval for the drones and related equipment worth $3.99 billion.
• Under the USD 3 billion deal, India will get 31 High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAVs, of which the Navy will get 15 Sea Guardian drones, while the Army and the Indian Air Force will get eight each of the land version – Sky Guardian.

ABOUT THE DRONE

• Also called Reaper/Predator
• Stealth feature of the drone -The drone can fly as close to 250 metres from the ground and operate with pin-drop silence.
• The drone can fly higher than a commercial aircraft, around 50,000 feet above the ground, and has a top speed of 275 mph or 442 km/h.
• A Predator drone can carry around 1,700 kg of payload, including four missiles and around 450 kg of bombs, and travel 2,000 miles without refuelling.
• The drone can fly continuously or hover over targets for up to 35 hours
• Manufactured by –General Atomics Aeronautical Systems
• Apart from air-to-air missiles, the drone can also be equipped with air-to-ground missiles
• It can be used for surveillance, intelligence gathering and airstrikes, made possible due to its wide-range sensors, multi-mode communication system, and precision weaponry.
• The MQ-9B can match 80 per cent of the capability of a manned patrol aircraft at about 20 per cent of its cost per hour. Hence its economic as well.
• The Sea Guardian, the Predator’s naval variant, has a 360-degree surface-search maritime radar, and sonobuoy monitoring system, enabling it to be deployed for anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions.