BrahMos to artillery: India clears defence proposals worth Rs 70,500 cr amid tension with China

The central government has cleared proposals worth Rs 70,500 crore to procure a number of defence equipment for armed forces, the Defence Ministry said on Thursday. A meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), held today, accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for capital acquisition to buy indigenously designed, developed, and manufactured weapons.     

Out of the total proposals, Indian Navy proposals constitute more than Rs 56,000 crore, which largely includes indigenous BrahMos missiles, Shakti Electronic Warfare (EW) systems, utility helicopters-maritime etc., the ministry said.

In a tweet, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said persistent efforts were being undertaken to bring self-reliance in the defence sector. "Proposals worth Rs 70,500 crore were approved today." 

The government said that while this additional procurement of BrahMos missile system will enhance the maritime strike capabilities and anti-surface warfare operation, the addition of utility helicopters will multiply the operational readiness of the Indian Navy in the domain of search and rescue operations, and casualty evacuation.

Similarly, it said, Shakti EW systems will equip and modernise the frontline naval ships to counter any naval operations by the adversaries.

"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 ministry said, referring to tensions at the borders with Pakistan and China. 

To achieve the same objectives, the ministry said, the council 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, the proposal has also been cleared for the procurement of 155mm/52 caliber advanced towed artillery gun system, high mobility vehicles (HMVs) and gun towing vehicles for the Indian Army. This is in addition to the ongoing Dhanush Gun System and K-9 Vajra-T Gun System.

The government has also accorded AoN for the procurement of advanced light helicopters 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, the ministry said.

With 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 per cent of the procurement will be sourced from Indian industries. Such a quantum of indigenous procurement, the ministry said, will galvanise the Indian industries towards achieving the goal of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'.