Chennai: A US-manufactured MQ-9B Sea Guardian drone, currently leased to the Indian Navy, crashed into the Bay of Bengal near Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The incident occurred during a routine surveillance mission, highlighting the challenges of operating high-tech unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in complex environments.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the Indian Navy acquired two such drones in 2020 under a lease agreement with the United States for enhanced surveillance capabilities, particularly amid heightened border tensions with China. The drone that crashed was a High Altitude Long Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft (HALE RPA) based at the naval air station INS Rajali Arakonnam, near Chennai. The Navy cited a technical failure that could not be rectified mid-flight as the cause of the incident. Efforts to recover the downed drone are ongoing.

These UAVs were inducted as part of the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, primarily for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. This crash occurs at a time when India is set to expand its UAV fleet, with plans to acquire 31 additional drones from the US following final approval expected by the Cabinet Committee on Security in October. The majority of these new drones will be allocated to the Navy, bolstering its ISR capabilities across regional waters.