# India signs Rs 1,943-cr lease for two MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones 2026-08-17T23:50:07+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets India's defence ministry has signed a Rs 1,943 crore contract with US-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems to lease two MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones for the Indian Navy for 30 months, businesstoday.in and Times of India report. The high-altitude long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft will boost maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean Region through persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance coverage. The lease is a stop-gap arrangement until India takes delivery of 31 MQ-9B drones from General Atomics under a $3.5 billion deal concluded in October 2024. Under that deal, the Times of India reports, India will acquire 15 SeaGuardian variants for the Navy, and eight SkyGuardian variants each for the Army and Air Force, along with advanced munitions and a local maintenance facility. The MQ-9B Sea Guardian can stay airborne for over 30 hours at altitudes above 40,000 feet and is equipped with 360-degree radar, electro-optical infrared cameras, and optional anti-submarine warfare systems, businesstoday.in notes. The 30-month lease will cover the Navy's immediate operational needs. ## Coverage - businesstoday.in - timesofindia.indiatimes.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-18T00:26:16+00:00. Tags: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Indian Navy, MQ-9B Sea Guardian Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/india-signs-rs-1943-crore-lease-for-two-mq-9b-sea-guardian-drones/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/india-signs-rs-1943-crore-lease-for-two-mq-9b-sea-guardian-drones/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/