Defence ministry clears acquisition of military hardware worth over Rs 70,000 crores for armed forces, coast guard

In a major decision, the Defence Acquisition Council has cleared acquisition proposals amounting to over Rs 70,000 crore for the Indian Armed Forces and the Indian Coast.

Of these, Indian Navy proposals constitute more than Rs 56,000 crore, which largely includes indigenous BrahMos missiles, Shakti Electronic Warfare (EW) systems, and Utility Helicopters-Maritime.

The Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for capital acquisition under Buy Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) was given by a DAC meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday, the Ministry of Defence said.

According to the ministry, this additional procurement of BrahMos missile system will enhance the maritime strike capabilities & Anti-Surface Warfare Operation of the Indian Navy. The addition of Utility Helicopters will multiply the operational readiness of the Indian Navy in the domain of Search & Rescue operations, Casualty Evacuation, and Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR).

Similarly, Shakti EW systems will equip and modernise the frontline Naval ships to counter any Naval Operations by the adversaries.

Accordance of AoN for Medium Speed Marine Diesel Engine under Make-I category is a significant step as, for the first time, India is venturing into the development & manufacturing of such engines indigenously to achieve self-reliance & leverage the capabilities of the Industries towards the goal of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, the ministry added.

“To keep pace with the emerging technologies and counter the adversaries in the Western and Northern front, the necessity of the new weapons and its integration with the delivery platforms was felt by the Government. To achieve the same objectives, the DAC accorded the approval to Indian Air Force’s proposal for Long Range Stand-Off Weapon (LRSOW) which will be indigenously designed, developed and integrated on SU-30 MKI aircraft,” the Ministry of Defence said.

The proposals cleared on Thursday also covered acquisitions for the Indian Army’s Artillery modernisation programme.

In addition to the ongoing Dhanush Gun System and K-9 Vajra-T Gun System, AoN for procurement of 155mm/52 Caliber Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) along with High Mobility Vehicles (HMVs) and Gun Towing Vehicles (GTVs) for the Indian Army was accorded by the DAC.

During the meeting, the DAC also accorded AoN for procurement of Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) MK-III from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Coast Guard.

The Helicopter will be able to carry a suite of surveillance sensors which will enhance the surveillance capabilities. It will also give full night capability and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) capability for operations of the Indian Coast Guard.

“Including today’s proposals, the total AoN granted for Capital Acquisition in the Financial Year 2022-23 is over Rs 2.71 lakh crore, out of which 99% of the procurement will be sourced from Indian industries. Such quantum of indigenous procurement will galvanise the Indian industries towards achieving the goal of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’,” the Ministry of Defence said.