The defence acquisition council (DAC) on Monday cleared proposals worth ₹1.1 lakh crore to sharpen the capabilities of the armed forces, including systems to enhance the war-fighting capability of fighter jets, transport planes and helicopters, new advanced light helicopters and chemical biological radiological and nuclear (CBRN) recce vehicles for the army, and Arudhra radars for the navy, the defence ministry said.
The plan to boost the Indian Air Force’s capabilities includes a pilot project to integrate Russian-origin RVV BD long-range air-to-air missiles with Sukhoi-30 fighters, people aware of the matter said.
The DAC, headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh, also accorded its Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for a ground-based multi-purpose jammer (GBMPJ) for the IAF, the design, development, and subsequent procurement of marine gas turbines (MGT) for the navy, and high mobility vehicles for the army.
Under India’s defence procurement rules, AoN by the council is the first step towards buying military equipment.
“Of the total AoNs accorded, approximately 98% of procurements will be made from the Indian Industry,” the defence ministry said.
India has taken several measures to boost self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector in recent years. These measures include imposing phased import bans on different types of weapons, systems, ammunition, and critical sub-systems and components, creating a separate budget for buying locally made military hardware, increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) from 49% to 74%, and improving ease of doing business.
The government aims to achieve defence manufacturing worth ₹3 lakh crore by 2029-30 --- in 2025-26, India achieved defence production worth ₹1.8 lakh crore.
{{/usCountry}}The government aims to achieve defence manufacturing worth ₹3 lakh crore by 2029-30 --- in 2025-26, India achieved defence production worth ₹1.8 lakh crore.
{{/usCountry}}The GBMPJ will provide effective jamming against radars of adversaries; the CBRN recce vehicles will be capable of detecting, identifying, monitoring and marking areas contaminated with CBRN agents; and Arudhra radars will replace the existing air route surveillance radars at various naval air stations and MGT, a warship propulsion system, will reduce dependency on foreign vendors, the defence ministry said.
High-mobility vehicles will enhance operational capabilities, logistics support and mobility in challenging terrain, and self-propelled mechanical mine layers will be critical for fast and responsive minelaying in difficult terrain, it added.
The systems cleared for the army include trawl tanks and the Sarvatra bridge system. These systems “will provide composite crossings to fighting formations during operations in varied terrains,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
Approval was also accorded for the installation of the Defence Forces Secure Access Card system. It will replace existing paper-based identity cards, passes, and permits with an interoperable radio frequency identification-based smart card system.