Huge boost to defence! India approves procurement Tejas LCA, Prachand helicopters & others worth Rs 2.23 lakh crore

New Delhi, Nov 30: In a huge boost to the defence sector and combat capability of the armed forces, the Ministry of Defence on Thursday approved the procurement of an additional batch of 97 Tejas light combat aircraft and around 150 Prachand helicopters as well as other proposals worth 2.23 lakh crore. This will give a huge boost to the Indian Defence Industry towards the aim of achieving the goal of "Atmanirbharta".

 

 

 

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also cleared a proposal of the Indian Air Force to upgrade its Su-30 fighter fleet.

 

"The DAC accorded AoNs for procurement of Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) for Indian Air Force (IAF) & Indian Army and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk 1A for IAF from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category. The AoNs have also been accorded by the DAC for upgradation of Su-30 MKI Aircraft indigenously from HAL," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

 

 

1. Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) for Indian Air Force (IAF) & Indian Army and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk 1A for IAF from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category.

 

2. For the upgradation of Su-30 MKI Aircraft indigenously from HAL.

 

3. The DAC also approved the procurement of two types of Anti-tank Munitions namely, Area Denial Munition (ADM) Type - 2 and Type-3, which are capable of neutralising Tanks and Armoured personnel carriers and enemy personnel.

 

4. To replace the Indian Field Gun (IFG), which has completed its service life, the ministry gave green signal for procurement of state-of-the-art Towed Gun System (TGS) which will become a mainstay of Artillery forces of Indian Army.

 

 

 

5. 155 mm Nubless projectile for use in 155 mm Artillery guns which will enhance lethality and safety of the projectiles. All these equipment of the Indian Army will be procured under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category.

 

6. Procurement and integration of Automatic Target Tracker (ATT) and Digital Basaltic Computer (DBC) for T-90 Tanks under Buy (India) category have also been accorded. It will help in maintaining combative edge of T-90 tanks over adversary platforms.

 

7. Procurement of Medium Range Anti-Ship Missiles (MRAShM) for surface platform of Indian Navy under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category. The MRAShM is envisaged as a lightweight Surface-to-Surface Missile which will be a primary offensive weapon onboard Indian Naval Ships.

 

The DAC has also accorded approval for a major amendment in the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020. "It has been decided that henceforth, in all categories of procurement cases, minimum 50% of indigenous content shall be in the form of material, components & software that are manufactured in India," it added.

 

"For all procurement cases with AoN cost upto Rs 300 crore, registered MSMEs and recognised start-ups will be considered for issue of Request for Proposal (RFP) without any stipulation of financial parameters, which can further be relaxed with approval of Defence Procurement Board (DPB) for AoN cost upto Rs 500 crore on case-to-case basis," it added.

 

Notably, the Indian Air Force has already ordered 83 LCA Mark1A fighter planes and their deliveries are expected to start in February-March 2024. The value of the 97 aircraft is expected to be around Rs 65,000 crore which would be the largest ever fighter aircraft deal in the country. The Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft project upgrade programme is also one of the biggest ever programmes planned to be done completely indigenously where Indian weapons, sensors and radars would be fitted on Russian-origin planes. The project is expected to cost around Rs 64,000 crores.

 

 

The Indian firm Hindustan Aeronautics Limited will be doing the complete design and development work on the aircraft which includes equipping the aircraft with the latest Virupaksha AESA radars. The Su-30 fighter jets are the mainstay of the Indian Air Force with 260 of them already in service. The jets have been inducted in different batches and have now formed around 50 per cent of the fighter fleet. The Su-30MKI fleet upgrade plan is also seen by the Indian Air Force as an opportunity for exports as many countries in Southeast Asia and Africa operate the plane and can use these solutions to provide advanced capabilities to their fleets.