General Atomics MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian Drone for the Indian Armed Forces
- Thread starter suryakiran
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It's a done deal at this point. It's too late to muddy the waters.
India shelves biggest project to develop advanced UAV | India News - Times of India
India News: The initial deadline for DRDO’s Tapas project was August 2016, but there were multiple problems with the increase in the UAV’s “all-up weight” to an utimesofindia.indiatimes.com
Wasn't the IN considering buying a few for maritime surveillance, flying from the A&N islands? And then some for the IAF?
IAF to acquire 6 Tapas drones, lead military acquisition for Made-in-India UAVs
Indian Navy to order four Tapas drones built by DRDO for maritime surveillance operations.
The focus is probably shifting to the Archer-NG since it has a pusher propeller config and weighs in at around 1200 kg as opposed to the heavier twin turboprop config of the Tapas-1 which doomed it from the start.
The good news here is the drone was piloted by US armed forces personnel. Lest anyone thinks of abusing IN.
I think initially it was 2 MQ9A, but later we have received 1 MQ9B replacing the earlier A. With all the dedicated sensors like SAR.
No we didn’t. All their PR saying its A version. Sensors are added on the old version.
Great news! These birds are expected to come armed to the teeth with sensors and weapons. Hopefully under the offsets we receive some assistance from GA-ASI to kickstart our own turboprop MALE UAV project.Deal cleared !
That's not how offsets work!. They just outsource part of the production to local industry. GA can't assure anything because that will be creating a competition for the market. There was some talk of consultancy, but honestly how helpful that can be?.
You are confusing with ToT which is not part of this deal.
I understand that, and the difference between offsets & ToT. Our agencies have got a lot right on the UAV front, but there is some room for consultation from an experienced drone manufacturer. As to how helpful that will be, I guess DRDO/ADE will decide on what sort of consultation they'd like to avail from GA, if any. It's just empty speculation on my end.
HT's Shishir Gupta reports that India's MQ-9B weapons fit wil include GBU-39B SDBs and a 'rotary canon' of unknown make. If the news about SDB is true, it could possibly make it to the LCA Mk1A, Mk2 and AMCA, maybe even the Rafale. The old Paveway LGBs are probably up for replacement anyway.
<SNIP> The acquisition of 31 Predator drones armed with Hellfire missiles, GBU-39B precision-guided bombs and high-fire rotary cannon, was once again spearheaded by the Indian Navy. <SNIP>
<SNIP> The acquisition of 31 Predator drones armed with Hellfire missiles, GBU-39B precision-guided bombs and high-fire rotary cannon, was once again spearheaded by the Indian Navy. <SNIP>
Here there is a mention of Consultancy to DRDO. I wouldn’t put much hopes on it. Probably ticking the athmanirbharatha box.
GA-ASI Completes Full-Scale Fatigue Test on MQ-9B for Second Lifetime
SAN DIEGO – 14 October 2024 – On Sept. 30, 2024, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) completed a major milestone with the full-scale fatigue testing of an MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). The team completed the “second lifetime” of fatigue testing, which is equivalent to 80,000 operating hours and represents an important step in validating the design of the airframe system. The testing is part of the aircraft certification to NATO standard STANAG 4671, where the aircraft will ultimately be tested through three lifetimes, thereby proving the 40,000-hour lifetime of the airframe.The full-scale fatigue test simulates the aircraft’s design service through the application of repeated structural loading on the assembled airframe. The testing identifies any potential structural deficiencies ahead of fleet usage and assists in developing inspection and maintenance schedules for the airframe. The results of the test will be used as part of the documentation for certification and will form the basis for in-service inspections of structural components.
MQ-9B is GA-ASI’s most advanced RPA and includes the SkyGuardian® and SeaGuardian® models as well as the new Protector RG Mk1 that is currently being delivered to the United Kingdom Royal Air Force (RAF).
“Full-scale fatigue testing is an integral part of validating the airframe design and a key input for the certification of the airframe prior to entering service,” said Chris Dusseault, vice president of MQ-9B in Europe. “The completion of the fatigue test builds confidence for our MQ-9B customers that the SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian meets the stringent design rigor and is mature at Entry into Service.”
The testing is the validation of years of design and analysis efforts. This is the second of three lifetimes of testing for the airframe. Two of the lifetimes simulate the operation of an aircraft under normal conditions, and the third has intentional damage inflicted on the airframe’s critical components to demonstrate its resistance to operational damage that may occur over the lifetime of the air vehicle.
Testing was conducted from Jan. 31, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2024, at Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research in Wichita, Kansas. The airframe tested is a production airframe purpose-built to support the test campaign.
In addition to the RAF, contracts have been signed for MQ-9B with Belgium, Canada, Japan, Taiwan and the U.S. Air Force in support of the Special Operations Command. The Japan Coast Guard is currently operating the SeaGuardian for maritime operations, and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) selected SeaGuardian for its Medium-Altitude, Long-Endurance (MALE) RPA System Trial Operation Project.
should post pone the deal signing till the elections are over in US. It is pretty stupid to buy equipment from a cntry which keeps shielding wanted terrorists.
India, U.S. conclude $3.5 billion deal for 31 MQ-9B armed UAVs
India and the U.S. on Tuesday (October 15, 2024) concluded a close to $3.5 billion deal for the procurement of 31 MQ-9B armed High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) manufactured by General Atomics.
The deal was signed today morning and is close to $3.5 billion, two official sources confirmed.
The deal also includes 170 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles; 16 M36E9 Hellfire captive air training missiles; 310 GBU-39B/B laser Small Diameter Bombs (SDB); and 08 GBU-39B/B LSDB guided test vehicles with live fuzes among others.