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.
