Recently, an MQ-9B Predator drone leased to the Indian Navy by the US crashed into the sea off the Chennai coast due to a failure of its power generators and onboard batteries.

It was leased from the American firm General Atomics and suffered a power generator and battery failure, leading to a "controlled ditching" into the sea off the Chennai coast.

What does "ditched in a controlled manner" mean, and is this crash a concern for India?

Besides, the US has also approved the sale of 31 MQ-9 B-armed drones to India at an estimated cost of USD 3.99 billion. The proposed mega drone deal was announced during PM Modi's state visit to the US in June 2023.

Under the deal, India will get 31 High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAVs, of which the Navy will get 15 SeaGuardian drones, while the Army and the Indian Air Force will get eight each of the land version – SkyGuardian.

But why did the deal take so long to finalise despite close diplomatic ties? Is leasing military equipment a viable long-term strategy for India?

How can India improve centralised drone operations across its armed services?

Host Dev Goswami and defence expert Shiv Aroor unpack these, also discussing the crash in the context of India’s growing defence relationship with the U.S., particularly agreements like COMCASA, which facilitate secure communication and intelligence sharing.

Tune in!

Produced by Anna Priydarshini

Sound mix by Kapil Dev Singh