From Sea Guardian to Heron Mark-II, Indian armed forces look to lease as funds dry up
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Fund crunch
According to a report by TOI, from mid-air refuelling aircraft and trainer planes to drones, light utility helicopters and minesweepers, the armed forces are increasingly looking to lease military equipment and platforms to plug urgent operational gaps amidst the prevailing fund crunch.
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Heron Mark-II
The Army, for instance, is now finalizing the lease of four advanced Heron Mark-II medium-altitude long-endurance UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) from Israel, while the upgrade of its existing drone fleet takes place, say sources.
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Sea Guardian drones
The Navy is already extensively using two MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones, variants of the iconic armed Predator drones, for long-range surveillance missions over the Indian Ocean after leasing them from a US firm last November.
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A-330 multi-role tanker transport
IAF, in turn, is now finalizing the “wet lease” of one A-330 multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) aircraft from France for training purposes. This comes after the force’s repeated attempts to buy six new flight refuelling aircraft (FRA), to extend the strategic reach of its fighter jets, have come to naught. Though IAF overall needs 18 such “force-multipliers”, it is currently making do with just six IL-78 aircraft inducted in 2003-2004. “By leasing at least one FRA, we can save the flying hours of the IL-78s for operational purposes,” said an officer.
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Light utility helicopters
The Navy also recently issued a request for information (RFI) to foreign companies for the lease of 24 twin-engine armed light utility helicopters, with all maintenance support, for a period of five years.