India’s acquisition of 31 General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) MQ-9B Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) drones from the U.S. could boost the subcontinent’s status as a defense MRO hub, former Indian Defense Secretary Ajay Kumar said recently.

“When the U.S. sells such advanced equipment, they never agree to any manufacturing outside the country. But in this particular case, it has said the [Reaper] drones will be assembled here and a full MRO hub for these drones will be set up as well,” Kumar says.

The comprehensive nature of the $3.07 billion MQ-9B uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) deal and its required offsets, which emphasize local assembly and for which the first orders were approved by India in June, signals security ties between the world’s largest economy and most populous country continue to deepen as New Delhi quietly moves away from its historic policy of nonalignment.

Noting “other countries” use MQ-9B UAS without naming any, Kumar said: “We can expect that in the future, some of the [Reapers] from other countries will come for maintenance, repair and overhaul to India.” While India is a less developed MRO hub than neighboring Singapore and Malaysia, neither operates the MQ-9B.

In an April report, the management consultancy AT Kearney estimates India’s defense MRO market would be worth about $3 billion by 2031, buoyed by a need to service an aging fleet of more than 2,000 aircraft that includes some that are more than three decades old such as the Soviet-built Mikoyan MiG-21. 

“The MRO spending for these older aircraft is significant because of low reliability and obsolete parts,” the report says.

In February at a seminar organized by the Indian Air Force, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh called for efforts to develop the country as an MRO hub and said MRO services could “safeguard” New Delhi’s defense equipment and systems. 

A Ministry of Defense official told India’s The Hindu in late June that GA-ASI is discussing domestic drone production with several Indian companies, which may expand to cover the production of some avionics if indigenous content increases. While the current indigenous content is 8-9%, India wants it to be 15-20%.

In January, General Atomics and India’s Bharat Forge announced a partnership to manufacture main landing-gear components, subassemblies and assemblies for remotely piloted aircraft. In a January press release, GA-ASI described the establishment of the partnership as “a major move to boost manufacturing in India.”  Bharat Forge is known for its manufacturing capabilities, design and engineering expertise and metallurgical know-how.

Vivek Lall, chief executive of General Atomics Global Corp., said in a statement the two companies would work together to build “the next generation of the world’s most advanced unmanned aerial vehicles.”