Why in the News?

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has reviewed and approved amendments to the deal for 31 MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from General Atomics of the US.
- The DAC also approved a proposal for the scheduled refit of aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya later this year.

About MQ-9B HALE UAV

The MQ-9B drone is a version of the MQ-9 “Reaper” and has two models: Sky Guardian and Sea Guardian.
It is built by the General Atomics.
This drone can fly over 40,000 feet high, making it useful for watching the Himalayan border areas.
It can stay in the air for up to 40 hours, perfect for long surveillance missions.
The MQ-9B has advanced features like automatic take-off and landing, a system to avoid other objects, secure GPS, and encrypted communications.
It can offer 80% of a manned aircraft’s capabilities at 20% of the cost per hour.
Deployment:
- The MQ-9B drones are planned to be deployed at four places, including INS Rajaji near Chennai and Porbandar in Gujarat, by the Indian Navy.
- The other two services will keep them jointly at two bases in Sarsawa and Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh at Air Force bases due to long runway requirements.

Specifications of the Procurement:

India is looking to procure 31 MQ-9B UAVs, including 15 Sea Guardians for the Indian Navy and 16 Sky Guardians (eight each for the Indian Army and Air Force).
The Indian Navy has leased two MQ-9As with the maiden flight taking place on November 21, 2020.
The estimated cost is $3.99 billion.
As part of the deal, General Atomics will establish a Global Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) facility in India, contributing to offset obligations.

The SeaGuardian model can help the Navy patrol large areas more economically than manned aircraft.
For the Army and Air Force, these drones will help monitor movements along the borders, especially with China.

	Details
Constitution	Established under the *Defence Ministry* for guiding defence procurement planning.
Role	Highest decision-making body in the Defence Ministry for new policies and capital acquisitions for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Indian Coast Guard.
Formation	Created in 2001 following recommendations on reforming the National Security System after the Kargil War.
Chairman	Minister of Defence.
Members	Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Minister of State for Defence, Three Service Chiefs (Army, Navy, Air Force), Chief of Integrated Staff Committees, Defence Secretary, Secretary Defence Research & Development.
Functions	In-principle approval of the 15 Year Long-Term Integrated Perspective Plan for Defence Forces. Accord of Acceptance of Necessity for acquisition proposals. Categorize acquisition proposals into ‘Buy’, ‘Buy & Make’, and ‘Make’. Decisions on offset provisions for acquisitions above Rs. 300 crores. Decisions regarding the transfer of technology under the ‘Buy & Make’ category.

[2018] What is “Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)”, sometimes seen in the news?

(a) An Israeli radar system

(b) India’s indigenous anti-missile programme

(d) A defence collaboration between Japan and South Korea