{"id":137059,"date":"2024-10-11T19:26:36","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T13:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?post_type=current-affairs&#038;p=137059"},"modified":"2024-10-14T17:00:07","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T11:30:07","slug":"mq9b-predator-drones-deal","status":"publish","type":"current-affairs","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/mq9b-predator-drones-deal","title":{"rendered":"MQ9B &#038; Predator Drones Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Cabinet Committee on Security recently approved two high-profile deals for the purchase of 31 MQ-9B <\/span><b>High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from General Atomics of the U.S. as well indigenous construction of two Nuclear Attack Submarines (SSN).<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Procurement of 31 MQ-9B UAVs<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Type<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) <\/span><b>Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Purpose<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: For all three Indian services:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>15 Sea Guardians<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for the <\/span><b>Indian Navy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>8 Sky Guardians<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> each for the <\/span><b>Indian Army<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Air Force<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cost<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Estimated at <\/span><b>$3.99 billion<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Significance:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The MQ-9B UAVs will enhance <\/span><b>surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting capabilities<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across all services.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pw.live\/batches\/upsc?utm_source=seo+upsc+batch&#038;utm_medium=seo+upsc&#038;utm_campaign=seo&#038;utm_id=upsc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Enroll now for UPSC Online Course<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Indigenous Construction of Two Nuclear Attack Submarines (SSNs)<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Project<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Building of <\/span><b>two indigenous SSNs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Nuclear Attack Submarines).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Significance<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provides the Navy with <\/span><b>unlimited endurance<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (limited only by crew endurance).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Follows the success of India\u2019s <\/span><b>SSBN<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> program (Nuclear-powered Ballistic Missile Submarines), with <\/span><b>INS Arihant<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (2016) and <\/span><b>INS Arighaat<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (2023) already in service.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critical for enhancing India&#8217;s <\/span><b>naval capabilities<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Past Context<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: India previously leased two SSNs from <\/span><b>Russia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.9987%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"width: 100%; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; background-color: rgba(184, 165, 217, 0.53); text-align: left; vertical-align: middle;\">\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000; font-size: 16pt;\"><b>India leased SSNs<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>INS Chakra<\/b><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leased from the <\/span><b>Soviet Union in 1988 for three years<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, this <\/span><b>Charlie-class submarine<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was armed with cruise missiles.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>INS Chakra II (Nerpa)<\/b><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Leased from<\/span><b> Russia in 2012 for 10 years<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, this<\/span><b> Akula-class submarine<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was armed with anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles and torpedoes.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India <\/span><b>returned the Akula-class Nerpa,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> another submarine leased from Russia, in<\/span><b> 2021 due to maintenance issues<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>INS Chakra III:<\/b><\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has also <\/span><b>signed a $3 billion deal with Russia<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to modernise the <\/span><b>Chakra-3 submarine.\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India hopes to induct another <\/span><b>Russian SSN into its fleet by 2026.<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><b>Pending Deal with the US<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Jet Engines<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Local manufacturing of <\/span><b>General Electric (GE) F414 jet engines<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by <\/span><b>Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for the <\/span><b>Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk1A<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Discussions about the <\/span><b>UAV and jet engine deal delays<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were held during <\/span><b>Defence Minister Rajnath Singh\u2019s<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> visit to the U.S. in August 2024.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/store.pw.live\/govt-entrance-exams\/upsc-books\/upsc-textbooks?utm_source=SEO&#038;utm_medium=PW+Live&#038;utm_campaign=UPSC+Textbooks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check Out UPSC NCERT Textbooks From PW Store<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-137047 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/114-670929c5e4ca4.webp\" alt=\"Predator Drones Deal\" width=\"404\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/114-670929c5e4ca4.webp 515w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/114-670929c5e4ca4-252x300.webp 252w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 404px) 100vw, 404px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>About MQ9B Predator Drones<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Model and Manufacturer:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is a high-altitude, long-endurance drone<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is developed by <\/span><b>General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI)<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Capabilities:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Altitude:<\/b> <b>Can fly at over 40,000 feet, <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">making it suitable for monitoring the Himalayan border areas.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Endurance: Capable of staying airborne for up to 40 hours, ideal for long surveillance missions.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Advanced Features:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Includes automatic take-off and landing, object avoidance systems, secure GPS, and encrypted communications.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Cost Efficiency<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Provides 80% of a manned aircraft&#8217;s capabilities at 20% of the cost per hour.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Nuclear Attack Submarines (SSNs)<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nuclear-Powered Attack Submarines (SSNs) are <\/span><b>advanced maritime vessels <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that are <\/span><b>powered by nuclear reactors<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and are primarily used for <\/span><b>offensive operations.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They are <\/span><b>one of the two main types<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of nuclear submarines, the other being <\/span><b>Ballistic Missile Submarines (SSBNs).\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Facts about SSNs:\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Stealth:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> SSNs can remain <\/span><b>submerged for extended periods<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, unlike conventional submarines that need to surface to <\/span><b>recharge their batteries<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Weapons:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> SSNs are equipped with a <\/span><b>variety of tactical weapons<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, including torpedoes, anti-ship cruise missiles, and land-attack cruise missiles.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Endurance:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> SSNs can <\/span><b>operate underwater almost indefinitely,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> limited only by the <\/span><b>crew&#8217;s food supplies<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>First SSN: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first nuclear-powered submarine was the <\/span><b>USS Nautilus (SSN-571)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which was commissioned in <\/span><b>1954<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has <\/span><b>one nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the <\/span><b>INS Arihant<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which was commissioned in <\/span><b>2016<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and India <\/span><b>plans to commission its second, INS Arighat, in 2024.<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has made progress in nuclear submarine technology through the <\/span><b>Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) program.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s Arihant-class submarines are <\/span><b>ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that are part of the country&#8217;s nuclear deterrent.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pw.live\/batches\/upsc\/pw-only-ias?utm_source=seo+upsc+batch&#038;utm_medium=seo+upsc&#038;utm_campaign=seo&#038;utm_id=upsc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.8494%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th style=\"width: 100%; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000; background-color: rgba(184, 165, 217, 0.53); text-align: left; vertical-align: middle;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>SSN<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> stands for <\/span><b>\u201cSubmersible Ship Nuclear\u201d<\/b><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>SSBN<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> stands for \u201c<\/span><b>Ship, Submersible, Ballistic, Nuclear<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>SSK<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> stands for &#8220;<\/span><b>Diesel-Electric Attack Submarine<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 100.043%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 130.811%; text-align: center; border-style: solid; border-color: #000000;\" colspan=\"2\"><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Must 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target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check Out UPSC CSE Books From PW Store<\/span><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Cabinet Committee on Security recently approved two high-profile deals for the purchase of 31 MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) from General Atomics of the U.S. as well indigenous construction of two Nuclear Attack Submarines (SSN).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"paper-wise":[2089],"subject":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/137059"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/current-affairs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137059"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/137059\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":137251,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/current-affairs\/137059\/revisions\/137251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137059"},{"taxonomy":"paper-wise","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/paper-wise?post=137059"},{"taxonomy":"subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/subject?post=137059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}