**BREAKING: India Leases 2 MQ-9B Sea Guardians From U.S.**

India’s Ministry of Defence has signed a ₹1,943-crore contract with General Atomics to lease two MQ-9B Sea Guardian HALE drones for the Indian Navy for 30 months.

The lease is intended to provide an immediate boost to maritime surveillance and reconnaissance while India waits for its larger MQ-9B fleet.

India has already purchased 31 MQ-9Bs — 15 Sea Guardians for the Navy and 16 Sky Guardians for the Army and Air Force — under a roughly $4-billion deal signed in 2024.

Deliveries of the purchased 31 drones are expected to begin in January 2029, making the 30-month lease essentially a bridge until the permanent fleet arrives.