NEW DELHI, Feb. 3 -- US firm General Atomics has replaced the MQ-9B SeaGuardian remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) that crashed into the Bay of Bengal on September 18, under the lease agreement it had signed with the Indian Navy, people aware of the matter said on Sunday.
A power failure caused the crash, and the high-altitude long endurance RPA was written off.
The RPA has been replaced by the original equipment manufacturer and is being used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in the Indian Ocean Region, the people said.
Under the 2020 lease, the navy has been using two RPAs operated by General Atomics to provide assured surveillance of the IOR to the navy. The platforms are based at naval air station Rajali in Tamil Nadu. T...