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By Ankit Kumar, Dipti Yadav: Amid recent reports of suspicious infrastructure upgrades at Myanmar’s Coco Islands, a MQ-9 drone leased by the Indian Navy was seen reconnoitering the nearby areas of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Open-source data reviewed by India Today suggests that approximately four hours long survey around the islands by the possible ‘SkyGuardian’ version of the drone on 12 April came days after a recent high-profile visit by Myanmar’s top military leader to the nearby Coco Islands.
Aviation data also establishes a Myanmar Air Force Fokker-70 Aircraft landed on the island on April 9. Local reports suggest it was carrying none other than General Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the 2021 military coup.
“Officials need to take preventive measures against illegal fishing by violating relevant laws in the Myanmar waters,” the Tatmadaw General was quoted during his trip by local media. Top General’s visit to one of the country’s farthest parts was only reported as a routine meeting with villagers and government officials that also included raising a meagre victory monument.
Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) accounts on Twitter speculated that the possible range of the MQ-9 censors would have covered the Coco Islands as well.
Although the aviation data aggregator Flightradar24 identified the drone as the ‘Reaper’ version rather than the ‘SeaGuardian’ version, India currently does not operate this version of the drones. India Today later learnt from Flightradar24 that the aircraft was using a generic registration associated with the manufacturer, so it is possible that the specific model could be different than what was shown on the flight tracking platform.
A recent report by a U.K. based think tank had pointed out renewed levels of construction activity at the Myanmar controlled Great Coco island that has been suspected of being China’s eyes and ears in the region for a long time. The approximate distance of the islands from India’s strategic Andaman and Nicobar Islands is merely 55 km. Andaman and Nicobar host India’s only tri-service command that makes the situation even more sensible from India’s national security perspective.
Myanmar Junta’s coming to power has drawn concerns over its increased collaboration with China. Concerns that China could use access to the Great Coco Island have been expressed since the late 90s by the Indian government officials. The recent low-key visit of the powerful military leader comes amid renewed spotlight on the strategic islands.
Earlier the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that India was monitoring the situation. “India keeps a constant watch on all developments bearing India’s security and takes all necessary measures to safeguard the same,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had told reporters, when asked about the revamping of military infrastructure at the islands.
MQ-9 DRONES
India has leased the MQ-9B SeaGaurdian drones for surveying the border areas, especially in the Indian Ocean region following the increased Chinese naval activities over the past few years. Amidst the 2020 Indo-China border skirmishes, India took two such drones on lease under Company-Owned, Company-Operated (COCO) model. Other versions of drones manufactured by the same company are MQ-9B SkyGuardian and MQ-9A Reaper.
India is now looking to acquire the MQ-9A Reaper version of the drones from the US-based defence firm General Atomics. Designated ‘Reaper’ by the U.S. and Royal Air Force (U.K.) these drones have endurance of over 27 hours, speeds of 240 KTAS, can operate up to 50,000 feet, and has a 1746 kg payload capacity. The drone had also received enormous attention earlier this year when the US military released a video of it getting intercepted by two Russian SU-27 fighters.
They are known for their ability to perform multi-mission Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions over land or sea. The MQ-9B SeaGuardian is mostly suited for missions over waters and the MQ-9B SkyGuardian for land.
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