THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 17, 2026
In a move aimed at sharpening its watch over the vast Indian
Ocean Region, India on Monday signed a Rs 1,943-crore contract with General
Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) to lease two MQ-9B Sea Guardian
High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS)
for the Indian Navy.
The 30-month leasing agreement, signed by the Ministry of
Defence (MoD), is expected to give a major boost to the Navy’s maritime
surveillance architecture by providing persistent intelligence, surveillance
and reconnaissance (ISR) coverage across expansive stretches of the maritime
domain.
The contract was signed at Kartavya Bhawan-2 in New Delhi in
the presence of Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition),
Department of Defence, A. Anbarasu.
The MQ-9B Sea Guardian systems being inducted on lease are
equipped with advanced systems, state-of-the-art sensors and sophisticated
payloads, the MoD said, underscoring their role in strengthening India’s
Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) capabilities.
With the Indian Ocean Region emerging as an increasingly
critical theatre for security and strategic competition, the leased platforms
are expected to provide the Navy with an enhanced ability to maintain a
continuous watch over developments across the region and detect potential
threats or emerging situations.
According to the MoD, the systems will provide persistent
Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) coverage over vast areas of
the maritime domain. This capability is expected to strengthen India’s ability
to monitor developments across the Indian Ocean Region and respond to emerging
situations.
The agreement with GA-ASI also comes as India continues to
strengthen its maritime surveillance capabilities, with greater emphasis on
sustained monitoring of its extensive maritime areas and rapid response to
evolving security challenges.
The MQ-9B Sea Guardian, a long-endurance remotely piloted
aircraft system, is designed for extended surveillance missions and can carry
sophisticated sensors and payloads, making it particularly suited for wide-area
maritime monitoring.
The 30-month lease will provide the Indian Navy with
additional high-end surveillance capacity while complementing its existing
maritime reconnaissance and surveillance assets.
