Decoding the Significance of India’s Predator Drone Defence Deal

By Pune Media On Oct 17, 2024 13

The Indian government has signed a deal with the United States to acquire 31 Predator drones for Rs 32,000 crore to bolster its military capabilities. Reports say that 15 drones will be distributed to the Indian Navy, while the rest will be used by the Indian Army and Air Force. The deal also focuses on establishing Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facilities in the country.

The MQ-9B Predator drone, developed by American manufacturer General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), is a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of 40-hour flights at over 40,000 feet and has a 2,155 kg external payload capacity.

The usage of drones has proliferated in recent years, and the drone deal carries significance as the Predator UAV increases India’s offensive capabilities. A recent paper from the Journal of Defence Studies says that 95 countries in the world have active inventories of drones for military purposes. The paper adds that India currently has Class 1 and Class 2 UAVs used by the military. Class 1 UAVs are less than 150 kg, are primarily used for surveillance missions and do not carry weapons; Class 2 UAVs weigh between 150 to 600 kg, are more tactical in nature and can carry multiple payloads. The Predator drones are categorised as Class 2 UAVs with a weight of 514 kg.

DRDO’s efforts

Nonetheless, India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been at the forefront of developing UAVs for military applications through labs like the Aeronautical Development Establishment Laboratory (ADE) and the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR). The DRDO has developed prototypes like DRDO Nishant, DRDO Ghatak, and DRDO Lakshya which could be categorised as Class 2 UAVs.

However, the success of these prototypes has been chequered, most notably the DRDO Nishant where three out of the four prototypes which were brought into service crashed leading the Indian Army to cancel its order.

The DRDO Rustom’s development is being pushed with a production agency cum development partner (PADP) and vendors such as Tata Power Strategic Engineering Division, Larsen & Toubro Limited, Godrej Aerospace Limited and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited-Bharat Electronics Limited have been selected for the same. However, TAPAS, a twin-engine version of the DRDO Rustom, crashed during a trial in August 2023. The TAPAS project faced significant delays and cost overruns, with initial estimates at Rs 1,650 crores (approximately US$ 200 million) at the time of its launch in 2016, rising to Rs 1,786 crores (US$ 215 million) by January 2024. Experts say that after 13 years of development, the outcomes are disappointing and sub-optimal.

MediaNama’s take

Though there has been a push by the government for a policy of atma nirbhar or self-sufficiency for the development of drones for military applications, the current Predator UAV deal hints at the fact that DRDO’s efforts aren’t enough and the government may need to continue procuring UAVs from other countries instead. Indeed, ideaForge’s quarterly earnings for Q1 FY 2024-25 saw a sharp drop in profitability and revenue and CEO Ankit Mehta said that drone ordering cycles from the Indian government were lower. This has prompted the company to look for orders in the United States and African countries.

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