Indian Navy inducts predator drones on lease from America for Indian ocean surveillance
New Delhi: Amid the ongoing border dispute between India and China, the Indian Navy has included two drones on lease from the US to increase their capacity and monitor the Indian Ocean region. Top government sources said that the drone is capable of flight capability more than 30 hours from the Indian Navy’s INS Rajali air base.
Sources said that both drones came to India in mid-November and in the third week of November, this system was commissioned and they are flying from there. Sources said that the Indian Navy has included these drones under a lease agreement with the American vendors, who have also deployed their teams to help operate the system. Drones can monitor all kinds of movement in the sea. With the help of drones, enemy warships can be closely monitored. With the help of this drone, the Navy will definitely get an edge over its opponents.
He said that American drones could also be made available to the Indian security forces deployed due to the ongoing tension in the East Ladakh region between India and China. Sources said that India and the United States are working together in the ongoing tension over Chinese aggression in eastern Ladakh.
Sources said that under the Defense Acquisition Procedure-2010 and Defense Procurement Rules-2009, arms systems have been given an option of lease which will save money and the responsibility of maintenance will be with the vendor.
Sources said that under the lease agreement, the US support staff would only help with maintenance and technical issues, while Indian Navy personnel would have strong planning and joystick control. Sources said that all the data collected by the drone during the flight would be a special property of the Indian Navy.
There are more than 100 warships in the Indian Ocean at any given time, as the region has seen an increase in trade and flow of energy, hence has witnessed rapid militarization in the region. Now the drone has the potential to raise domain awareness for the Indian Navy.
