India may cut US surveillance drone deal by half due to fund crunch
NEW DELHI: India may prune by half a potential order to import hi-tech unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS) from the United States due to financial constraints, two government officials familiar with the Navy’s modernisation plans said on Sunday.
Instead of pursuing the navy’s original requirement of 22 MQ-9B Seaguardian UAVS to boost its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, India now plans to buy only 10 such systems under the US government’s foreign military sales (FMS) programme, one of the officials cited above said on condition of anonymity.
The 22 UAVS, made by General Atomics, were estimated to cost $2 billion. India began the FMS process in 2016 by issuing a Letter of Request (LOR) to the US.
“Responding to the LOR, the US has supplied us with the price and availability (P&A) data for the Seaguardian systems. The navy has studied it and rationalised its requirement from 22 to 10 UAVS because of the cost and the requirement of the other services,” said the second official, asking not to be named.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is also keen to buy Predator Avenger UAVS from the US.
The downsizing of the order will mean that the navy will have to prioritise the areas it wants to keep under surveillance using the Seaguardian UAVS, said a senior navy officer on condition of anonymity.
“We had arrived at a figure of 22 on the basis of our requirements. But we have to manage with the resources we have. The navy has several aerial surveillance platforms such P-8I aircraft, IL-38S, Dornier planes and other UAVS,” he said. SHILLONG: Rescue teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and local police on Sunday continued their efforts to locate the 13 miners who were trapped on Thursday while working in an illegal coal mine in Ksan village of Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district.
According to police and the district administration, so far only 3 helmets have been found.
“We are working overtime, the NDRF has brought in loads of equipment and together we are sparing no efforts but unfortunately we are yet to locate any bodies so far,” East Jaintia Hills superintendent of police, Silvester Nongtyngnger told Hindustan Times over phone.
Despite a four-year-old ban on mining by the National Green Tribunal, mining activity was underway at the site located in Ksan village near Lytein River in the district. On Thursday, the mine collapsed, trapping the 13 people.
Revealing that the mine was extremely deep at 370 feet, he said, “It is in fact below the water level of the adjacent Lytein River, so you can well imagine the challenges we are facing to drain out the water.”