India announced on 17 August that it had signed a contract with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) to lease MQ-9B SeaGuardian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for the Indian Navy.
The contract valued at approximately INR19.43 billion (US$203 million) will cover the lease of two MQ-9Bs and associated equipment to the Indian Navy (IN) for 30 months.
According to India’s Ministry of Defence, the UAVs will be equipped with advanced sensors and mission systems to enhance the IN’s maritime domain awareness and provide persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) coverage of India’s maritime areas.
The navy already has experience operating the MQ-9 family, having entered into an agreement with GA-ASI in 2020 for the lease of two MQ-9As. The MQ-9As supplied to India were operated under a company-owned, company-operated lease agreement with GA-ASI.
These MQ-9As entered service in November 2020 and accumulated more than 10,000 flight hours during their first two years of operation. The navy lost one these in an accident in September 2024, this being subsequently replaced by GA-ASI.
This latest deal comes as India moves towards the commencement of deliveries under a much larger Foreign Military Sales deal with the US government.
In October 2024, Delhi concluded an agreement for 31 MQ-9B SkyGuardians/SeaGuardians under a tri-service procurement valued at US$3.5 billion. Fifteen MQ-9B SeaGuardians will be operated by the navy, while the army and air force will operate a combined total of 16 SkyGuardians.
Some of the weapons cleared for sale to India for these MQ-9Bs include AGM-114R Hellfire missiles and GBU-39B/B Small Diameter Bombs.
India has also contracted General Atomics Global India for performance-based logistics services and depot-level maintenance, repair and overhaul in India.
The IN also operates the Drishti-10 Starliner medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAV platform, which is based on Elbit Systems’ Hermes 900 Starliner. Following their entry into service in 2024, one of them crashed in July 2026. The navy is eyeing the acquisition of ten more Drishti-10s to undertake ISR missions.
The Drishti-10 Starliner is assembled in Hyderabad by Adani Defence. It is the first instance of MALE UAVs being locally assembled in India.
by Atul Chandra
