Rajnath Singh-led DAC clears ₹1.10 lakh crore defence acquisition proposals

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Monday cleared capital acquisition proposals worth about ₹1.10 lakh crore for the armed forces, with around 98% of the procurements to be sourced from Indian industry, the Defence Ministry said.

The approvals, accorded at a meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, cover a range of platforms and systems for the Army, Navy and Air Force.

"The DAC accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) that is in-principle administrative approval to various acquisition proposals of the defence forces at an estimated cost of about Rs 1,10,000 crore," the ministry said.

For the Indian Army, the DAC granted Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), or in-principle approval, for procurement of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) reconnaissance vehicles, high mobility vehicles, self-propelled mechanical mine layers, Advanced Light Helicopters (ALHs), Trawl Tanks and Sarvatra Bridge Systems.

The CBRN reconnaissance vehicles will be used to detect, identify, monitor and mark areas contaminated by CBRN agents, while high mobility vehicles are aimed at improving operational mobility and logistics support in difficult terrain, the ministry said.

The self-propelled mechanical mine layers will provide faster and responsive mine-laying capabilities in challenging terrain.

The ALHs will be used to undertake complex missions across different terrains and operational situations for the Army and the Indian Air Force.

Trawl Tanks and Sarvatra Bridge Systems will provide composite crossing capabilities to fighting formations during operations across varied terrain.

For the Indian Navy, the DAC approved procurement of Arudhra radars and the design and development followed by procurement of Marine Gas Turbines (MGTs).

The Arudhra radars will replace the existing Air Route Surveillance Radars at various naval air stations, while the MGT project is aimed at reducing the Navy's dependence on foreign vendors for warship propulsion systems.

The DAC also cleared several proposals for the Indian Air Force aimed at enhancing the war-fighting capabilities of fighter aircraft, transport planes and helicopters.

It approved procurement of Ground-Based Multi-Purpose Jammers (GBMPJ), which will be used to jam adversary radars, and installation of the Defence Forces Secure Access Card (DEFSAC) system.

The DEFSAC system will replace paper-based identity cards, passes and permits with interoperable radio-frequency identification-based smart cards.

The ministry said approximately 98% of the procurements covered by the AoNs would be made from Indian industry.