Indian Military UAV Procurement Programs : General Discussions

From the Dutch FMS

" The U.S. State Department first approved the Netherlands for a potential MQ-9 sale in 2015, when it valued the order at about $339 million for four air vehicles, six Honeywell TPE331-10T turboprop engines, ground stations, Lynx radars, and a variety of other subsystems and spares. The deal is for the unarmed configuration of the Reaper. "


So even in 2015 it was approx 85 mil per piece, so in comparison 100 mil a piece in 2023 doesn't sound too much.
 
From Belgian FMS for Sky Guardian

" The U.S. State Department has given the green light for Belgium to buy MQ-9B Sky Guardian drones from General Atomics, a deal that could be worth about $600 million.

The deal would include four MQ-9B drones, two ground stations, five AN/DAS-4 multispectral targeting systems, 15 embedded GPS/inertial navigation systems, five AN/APY-8 Lynx synthetic aperture radars, and five detect-and-avoid systems. It also includes spares, testing and training equipment necessary to support a five-year period of operations. "

4 units for 600 million USD.
 
Greece acquisition of 3 Sea Guardians (most recent), couldn't find US DSCA release. Got the Greek release though.

" Activation of the procurement program for 3 MQ-9B SeaGuardian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with two Ground Control Stations for a total estimated amount of approximately €388 million. The system is deemed necessary to fulfill a range of missions at low cost not only in the Aegean but also outside the Athens FIR, a condition which is satisfied by the type's long flight time of 40 hours."

That's 419 million in USD terms.
Just for context.

Block 1 is the most commonly used one. It's improvement is Block 5. And after Block 5, it's the Sky/Sea Guardians.

It's either Reaper or Sky/Sea Guardians. The name Predator is a misnomer imo.
 
Ankit Kumar said:
Do we expect actual signing? We do not have any FMS clearance as of yet.
I am saying this because France, Italy, etc when they got MQ9s, FMS clearances were published.
Click to expand...
Breaking India's bureaucratic log jam on drones hinges on an internal meeting to generate an "Acceptance of Necessity" document, an Indian precursor to a formal "Letter of Request" which kicks off the foreign military sale process. As of Tuesday, the sources did not know if the New Delhi had generated the necessary internal document.

www.reuters.com

Exclusive: US pushing India to seal big armed drone buy for Modi visit

Ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington, the Biden administration is pushing New Delhi to cut through its own red tape and advance a deal for dozens of U.S.-made armed drones, two people familiar with the matter said.
www.reuters.com www.reuters.com
 
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FMS approval for UAE. 18 units and approx 3 billion USD cost. Look at the specific equipments. I believe we will have a similar package. Therefore the 18 units at 3 billion USD talk might prove correct.


" The Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has requested to buy up to eighteen (18) Weapons-Ready MQ-9B, Remotely Piloted Aircraft; twenty-five (25) Raytheon Multi-Spectral Targeting Systems-D (MTS-D) EO/IR Sensors; nineteen (19) Lynx AN/APY-8 Synthetic Aperture Radars (SAR) with Ground Moving Target Indicator (GTMI); eighteen (18) RIOTM Communication Intelligence Systems; sixty-six (66) Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigations Systems (EGI) with Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Modules (SAASMs); five hundred fifteen (515) AGM-114R Hellfire Missiles; twelve (12) KMU-572 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) Tail Kits for 500LB Bombs; four (4) MXU-650 Airfoil Groups for 500LB Paveway II GBU-12; seven (7) MXU-1006 Airfoil Groups for 250LB Paveway II GBU-58; eleven (11) MAU-169 or MAU-209 Computer Control Groups (CCGs) for 250LB/500LB Paveway II GBU-58/GBU-12; six (6) FMU-139 Fuse Systems; twelve (12) MK-82 General Purpose 500LB Inert Bombs; and four (4) GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) Guided Test Vehicle (GTV) Inert Practice Munitions (T-1) with Fuse. Also included are Honeywell TPE-331 turboprop engines; Certifiable Ground Control Stations (CGCS); mobile Satellite Communication Ground Data Terminals (SGDTs); Link-16 KOR-24A Small Tactical Terminals; Automatic Information System (AIS); Rohde & Schwartz UHF/VHF radios; AN/DPX-7 IFF Transponders; Satellite Communication (SATCOM) antennas and modems with USG encryption; Secure SATCOM systems; SeaSpray 7500 maritime radars; SAGE 750 Electronic Surveillance Measures System; KY-100M security voice terminals; KIV-77 Mode 5 IFF cryptographic appliques; U.S. Government Certified Encryption Solution; Rover 6i compatible systems; MQ-9B training simulator; Due Regard Radars (DRR); Electronic Warfare (EW) in-country threat library programming capability; BRU-71A bomb racks; BRU-78/A bomb racks; Hellfire missile rail kits; AN/AWM-103/B Station Stores Test Sets; Common Munitions Built-in-Test Reprogramming Equipment (CMBRE) Plus Block II; Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) mission kits, receivers, and acoustic processors; AN/SSQ-36B thermometric sonobuoys; AN/SSQ-53G passive sonobuoys; AN-SSQ-62F active sonobuoys; ASW acoustic operator workstations; weapons loading equipment; initial spare and repair parts; hard points, power, and data connections for weapons integration; DSU-38 Laser Illuminated Target Detector for GBU-54; AN/PYQ-10C Simple Key Loaders; Electronic Intelligence System; weapons integration; support and test equipment; publications and technical documentation; personnel training and training equipment; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services; and other related elements of logistical and program support. The overall total estimated value is $2.97 billion. "
 
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New Delhi [India], June 15 (ANI): Amid preparations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, the Defence Ministry on Thursday approved the deal for acquiring the Predator (MQ-9 Reaper) drones from America for which the final decision would be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).
"The deal for the Predator drones was given approval by the Defence Acquisition Council meeting today. The acquisition proposal will now have to follow a procedure after which it will have to be cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security," defence sources told ANI here.
The DAC is the highest body in the Defence Ministry to take decisions on acquisitions. All high value acquisitions are given final approval by the CCS.
The Indian Navy is the lead agency for the deal in which 15 drones will be going to the maritime force for surveillance operations in its area of responsibility.
The three services also have plans of going in for same type of medium altitude and long endurance drones from indigenous sources.
Meanwhile, PM Modi is scheduled to visit the US from June 21 to 24, where US President Joe Biden will host him at the White House. This will be PM Modi's first state visit to the US during his nine-year reign as prime minister.
PM Narendra Modi during his visit will also become the first Indian PM to address the Joint Meeting of the US Congress for the second time. Indian Americans said the invitation sent to Prime Minister to address the US Congress serves as a reminder of the historic significance of the relationship between the US and India, reflecting the shared dream and commitment to global peace and prosperity, especially in the Indo-Pacific region. (ANI)
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This is good. Navy is the service with actual requirement of this class of UAV. Others can make do with cheaper alternatives.
 
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https://twitter.com/x/status/1680948218731823107

 
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