Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd to provide MRO support for GA-ASI’s MQ-9B engines
State-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will provide maintenance support services for engines of American MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft System, considered one of the most sophisticated armed drones globally, for their operations in India, officials said on Wednesday.
The announcement of the project comes amid India’s ongoing talks with the US to procure 30 MQ-9B armed drones at a cost of over USD 3 billion primarily to crank up its surveillance apparatus along the frontier with China as well as in the Indian Ocean region.
The HAL and US defence major General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI), the manufacturer of the MQ-9Bs, announced the collaboration on the MRO (maintenance repair and overhaul) services for the drones on the sidelines of Aero India-2023 at the Yelahanka air base complex.
