Explained: Why India to buy MQ9 Reaper Drone from America
India needs the armed drones to crank up its surveillance apparatus along the frontier with China as well as in the Indian Ocean region.
NEW DELHI- America’s MQ9 Reaper drone is all set to be brought to India. This Drone is known to kill Alqayeda Chief Al-Jawahiri who was hiding in Kabul, Afghanistan. The process of buying and importing the drone is at the final stage. The deal will be finalized for more than 3 billion dollars from America.
The official sources of the Defence Ministry of India informed the news agencies about the deal. The sources said that New Delhi and Washington are conversing regarding the deal to buy the MQ9 Reaper designed by the Defence department of America. The Chief Executive of ‘General Atomic Global Co-operation’ the company that designed the drone, Dr. Vivek Lal informed the news agencies that the deal is at the final stage.
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By 1999, the US Airforce (USAF) felt the need for more advanced versions, so General Atomics began work on the Predator B, which entered operations in 2007 as the MQ-9 Reaper, as the replacement of the original Predator.
The question arises Why does India need this superpower drones?
The answer is, India needs the armed drones to crank up its surveillance apparatus along the frontier with China as well as in the Indian Ocean region.
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Since 2020, India and China had been at military standoffs at several points along the 3,488 km-long border, with several reports claiming that both sides have deployed close to two lakh troops each. India has stepped up surveillance considerably along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), using a fleet of unmanned drones and the addition of these drones would be a big upgrade in India’s monitoring programme.
Further, with China increasing its naval activity in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), including docking its latest-generation space-tracking ship — Yuan Wang 5 capable of monitoring satellites, rockets and intercontinental ballistic missile launches close to the Indian coastline — the need for Reaper drones seem imperative to control China.
The special superpower of this drone is that it can fly around different locations unnoticed.
For more details must watch the above video.
