New Delhi: The Indian government today gave its approval to proposals worth Rs 70,500 crore for the Armed Forces and Indian Coast Guard to buy military assets from the indigenous sources.
Out of the total proposals approved by the Defence Acquisition Committee (DAC), headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, those of the Indian Navy constitute more than Rs 56,000 crore, which largely includes indigenous BrahMos missiles, Shakti Electronic Warfare (EW) systems and Utility Helicopters-Maritime, an official statement said here.
This additional procurement of BrahMos missile system will enhance the maritime strike capabilities & Anti-Surface Warfare Operation, it said.
The addition of Utility Helicopters will multiply the operational readiness of the Indian Navy in the domain of Search & Rescue operations, Casualty Evacuation, Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) etc.
Similarly, Shakti EW systems will equip and modernise the frontline Naval ships to counter any Naval Operations by the adversaries, the statement said.
Accordance of the Acceptance of Necessity (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’, it said.
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, the statement said.
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.
For Artillery modernisation, in addition to the ongoing Dhanush Gun System and K-9 Vajra-T Gun System, AoN was accorded 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.
The DAC also accorded AoN for procurement of Advance 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, the government said.
It will also give full night capability and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) capability for operations of the Indian Coast Guard, it added.
By including today’s proposals, the total AoN granted for Capital Acquisition in the Financial Year 2022-23 has now gone up to over Rs 2.71 lakh crore, out of which 99% of the procurement will be sourced from Indian industries, it said.
