The Indian defence forces will deploy the 31 Predator drones at three major hubs across the country to carry out surveillance of all areas, including the borders with China and Pakistan, and the vast maritime zone.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, the two countries announced the plans of Indian forces to procure 31 Predator drones. The plan is to deploy these drones at three major hubs, one of which would be in the North or Northwest region while another would be in the northeastern region from where they would be looking after the entire region, senior defence officials said.
One of the hubs would be created at the INS Rajali from where the forces are already operating the two Predator drones taken on lease during the initial phase of a standoff with China in 2020-21.
The three forces would also be operating these drones from bases which would enable the launching and landing of such unmanned aerial vehicles.
The drones on lease are operated by the General Atomics representatives but now the Indian pilots from the three services would be trained for this role in India as well as in the US.
The drones would be operated by the tri-services jointly.
The proposal in this regard in the defence acquisition council was also sent by the tri-services headquarters.
A detailed scientific analysis was carried out by officers from the tri-services to arrive at the number of unmanned aerial vehicles of this long endurance variety.
All the future deals by the tri-services, including ones for helicopters, drones and air defence weapon systems, would be done in the same manner,” the official added.
India shares vast maritime and land boundaries with two major adversaries — Pakistan and China — and requires constant monitoring of their activities to safeguard its national security interests.
The Predators, also called the MQ-9 Reaper, can fly up to 36 hours at a stretch and can be used for focused monitoring of any specific point or area of interest.