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https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/navy-inducts-two-sea-guardian-drones-on-lease-from-us/article33178519.ece

Navy inducts two Sea Guardian drones on lease from U.S

NOVEMBER 25, 2020

The Indian Navy has inducted two MQ-9B Sea Guardian unarmed drones procured from the U.S. on lease, two defence sources said on Wednesday.

“The drones are on lease for one year. All planning, execution and operations will be with the Indian Navy. The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) will play a support role for maintenance as laid down in the agreement,” one defence source said. The drones arrived in India mid-November.

The recently released Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 has introduced an option for leasing military platforms.

As part its force restructuring to offset budgetary constraints, the Navy has been looking to induct more unmanned solutions, both aerial and underwater. As part of this, the requirement of additional P-8I maritime patrol aircraft has been cut down from 10 to six and was to be offset by procurement of long endurance drones.
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