The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), which met on Saturday, approved procurements worth ₹ 3000 crore which include BrahMos cruise missiles for the two stealth frigates to be procured directly from Russia and armored recovery vehicles for the Army's Arjun tanks.
“As a follow up of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) decision in October 2018 for procurement of four P1135.6 follow-on ships, the DAC granted approval for procurement of indigenous BrahMos missiles for two Indian Navy ships to be built in Russia,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
The indigenously designed BrahMos Missile is a tested and proven supersonic cruise missile and will form the primary weapon on-board these ships, the statement added.
In October 2016, India and Russia signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for four Krivak or Talwar stealth frigates - two to be procured directly from Russia and two to be built by Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) and the commercial deals were signed recently.
The basic structures of two frigates are already ready at Yantar shipyard in Russia and will be finished now following the $1 bn deal. Last week, Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) signed a $500 mn deal with Rosoboronexport of Russia for material, design and specialists assistance to build two frigates in India.
BrahMos, which is a joint venture between India and Russia, has already been inducted on all frontline warships of the Indian Navy.
The DAC also approved the procurement of Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARVs) for the Army’s Arjun main battle tanks. These are designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and would be manufactured by Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML). The ARVs ensure efficient and speedy repair and recovery of tanks during combat.