Defence Ministry approves capital acquisition of military hardware worth Rs 70,500 crore

The Defence Ministry on Thursday approved the purchase of arms and ammunition worth Rs 70,500 crore, including additional Brahmos cruise missiles for the Indian Navy and new home-made howitzers for the Indian Army.

Indian Navy has emerged as a major beneficiary with the Defence Acquisition Council headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approving projects worth Rs 56,000 crore ranging from Brahmos missiles and Shakti electronic warfare systems to Utility Helicopters-Maritime, which is being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the Navy.

The Utility Helicopter Marine is a variant of HAL’s Advanced Lightweight Helicopter, customised for naval requirements. If the development is successful, the Navy would be looking at buying more than 50 of these home-grown choppers as the maritime force is woefully short of rotary wing aircraft that are integral part of a naval fleet.

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The additional Brahmos missile systems will enhance the Navy’s strike capabilities and anti-surface warfare operation, while the Shakti EW systems will equip the frontline ships to counter naval operations by the adversaries.

For artillery modernisation, the defence ministry sanctioned the Army's plans to buy home grown 155 mm/52 Caliber Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS). The indigenous guns with a strike range of 48 km have been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation in partnership with Bharat Forge and Tata Advanced Systems.

The new howitzers will add to the Indian Army’s operational gun systems like Dhanush and K-9 Vajra that are being used in the northern and western fronts. Along with the ATGS, the DAC also approved High Mobility Vehicles and Gun Towing Vehicles for the Indian Army.

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The DAC also gave green light to Indian Air Force’s proposal for Long Range Stand-Off Weapon, which will be indigenously designed, developed and integrated on SU-30 MKI aircraft.

The ministry has further put its stamp of approval to indigenously develop and manufacture medium speed marine diesel engines. This is a significant step as India ventures into the development and manufacturing of such engines for the first time.

The Indian Coast Guard too received green signals for the procurement of HAL’s Advance Light Helicopters MK-III. The choppers will be able to carry a suite of surveillance sensors, besides giving full night and instrument flight rules capabilities for operations.

The ministry in this fiscal has granted AoN worth Rs 2.71 lakh crore, out of which 99 per cent of the procurement will be sourced from Indian industries.