Sea Guardian Drones from US inducted by the Indian Navy

Sea Guardian Drones from US inducted by the Indian Navy

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Defence and Security

In news

• Recently, two American MQ9B Sea Guardian unarmed drones have been inducted by the Indian Navy.
• The drones would be on lease with India for one year.

Important value addition

MQ9B Sea Guardian

• It is the maritime variant of the Predator MQ9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).
• It has a maximum endurance of 40 hours and a maximum flying altitude of 40,000 feet.
• It has a 3600 maritime surveillance radar and an optional multimode maritime surface search radar.
• It can be used in operations such as Anti-Surface Warfare, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief, Search and Rescue, Law Enforcement (Drug Trafficking, Illegal Immigration and Piracy), etc.
• The drones are meant for carrying out surveillance in the Indian Ocean Region and can be deployed on the China border if asked for and if needed.