General Atomics open to offering MQ9B UAVs with airborne early warning, says CEO Vivek Lall
The MQ9B-AEW marks the first attempt to integrate airborne early warning systems onto a UAV rather than a larger radar-equipped aircraft, enabling deeper, more persistent surveillance of air threats in enemy skies – an need also felt during Op Sindoor.
For a “winning approach” in today’s battlefield, Lall said India must invest not only in large strategic drones but also in a “layered ecosystem” spanning communications, indigenous payloads and a training pipeline that produces “operators and analysts as fast as platforms.”
As the maker of the SeaGuardian and SkyGuardian MQ9B – a high-altitude, long-endurance UAV – Lall said GA views India as a long-term strategic hub.
“The opportunity in India is not just to build platforms. It is to build an ecosystem – components, subassemblies, payload integration, software, training and long-term sustainment. If those fundamentals are in place, India will be more than a customer; it will be a strategic hub,” he said, pointing to GA’s partnership with L&T to manufacture Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAVs in India.
On how Sea/SkyGuardian class drones would have made a difference in Op Sindoor, Lall said such operations underscore the value of “persistent, high-quality intelligence and fast targeting,” particularly when the requirement is “precision, restraint and clear battle damage assessment.” The Sea/SkyGuardian platform, he added, is designed to “separate noise from signal.”.
“That matters when the political and operational requirement is to be decisive without being reckless. They enable a cleaner chain – find, fix, track and, when authorised, engage – while maintaining a verified operational picture for commanders.”
The lesson from Op Sindoor, Lall said, is that modern conflict “rewards speed, integration and clarity of command”. UAVs, sensors, electronic warfare, air defence and precision fires must be fused into a single operational picture that commanders can act on swiftly across services, he added.”When integration is strong, you get decisive effects with better control over escalation and collateral risk. When it is weak, decisions slow down and effort gets duplicated.”
Can UAVs swing battle outcomes? Lall said they can – but not in isolation. “What they really do is compress time. They shorten the sense-decide-act loop, expose movements that were once hidden, and make it harder for any force to mass, manoeuvre or resupply without being detected and struck.”
At the tactical level, he said, small drones and loitering munitions can dominate trenches, armour and artillery through persistent surveillance and rapid targeting. At the operational level, long-endurance UAVs enable wide-area coverage, including maritime domains, and provide deep-strike support at a “fraction of the cost” of manned platforms.
“That said, these aircraft do not replace combined arms. If an adversary fields competent electronic warfare, air defences, deception and disciplined emissions control, drones become more vulnerable. The side that prevails is typically the one that integrates drones into a broader kill chain – intelligence, targeting, fires and battle damage assessment – while also investing in robust counter-drone and electronic protection.”
According to Lall, India needs UAVs in scale that can operate across the Himalayas, deserts, dense urban terrain and expansive maritime approaches. “The right mix is not a single platform but layers: small, expendable systems near the front; medium platforms for brigade and division-level ISR; long-endurance systems that persist over land and sea; and a counter-drone architecture to protect bases, critical infrastructure and manoeuvre forces.”
Lall cautioned that while China’s closest equivalents to the Sky/SeaGuardian are medium-altitude, long-endurance strike and ISR platforms such as the Wing Loong family and the CH series, the larger challenge lies in Beijing’s ecosystem play. “The key point is that competition is not just a platform comparison. China is building breadth – multiple UAV types produced at scale, integrated with electronic warfare, data networks and an industrial base designed to iterate rapidly. That ecosystem is what makes them a serious competitor, even if individual subsystems differ in maturity.”
