US Reaper Variants for India, including SeaGuardians.

Gessler, on June 24, 2023, provided very interesting comments on the following: 

It seems India is going ahead with the purchase of 31 x MQ-9B Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) variants from the US. The largest operator would be the Indian Navy with 15 x SeaGuardian (aka Mariner) variants. Two SeaGuardians had already been leased to the Indian Navy since November 2020 for operational testing. 

The Indian Army Aviation corps and the Air Force will each operate 8 of the SkyGuardian Reaper variant.

Note that these figures are as approved by the Indian MoD's Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC). The final deal may or may not undergo some changes once the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) goes through it before releasing finances. 

I'd say the SeaGuardians will be a huge step to give the Indian Navy truly persistent ISR capabilities across the Indian Ocean region. The MQ-9B, like India's P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, should be capable of fully networking with partner assets in the region. The SeaGuardian should also be capable of:

-  ASW roles such as deploying sonobuoys around a contact shared by the P-8I,
-  helping to prevent armed incursions by sea from Pakistani terrorists (seen in the 2008 Mumbai attacks) and
-  oversight and armed protection of Indian tankers and other ships transitting the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.

I've just read the very wide ranging Joint Statement from the White House written following Indian Prime Minister Modi's June 2023 visit to Washington. It seems the program also includes a domestic assembly/production clause which means all of the MQ-9B Reaper UAV variants may not come from the US and instead some might be assembled locally in India, with a degree of domestic industrial contribution.

There's also mention, in the Joint Statement, of building a Comprehensive Global MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul) facility in the country. This means not only the Indian-operated UAVs but also those operated by other Indo-Pacific partners in the area may head there for servicing their UAV fleets instead of going all the way to the continental United States. It's not known if the MRO facility includes services only for the MQ-9B or for other UAV types as well. 

It serves to know that an MRO facility meant for P-8I surveillance aircraft is already up and running in the India. 

There's also programs being implemented for expanding the size and scope, in India, of Ship Repair agreements for US Navy assets deployed in the region. 

Gessler
June 24, 2023

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In the Defense Updates January 2021 video, here and above, the MQ-9B SeaGuardian's ASW capabilities and the P-8's roles are described.
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