The Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting chaired by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on October 26 approved an allocation for the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force of about Rs. 2.12 lakh crore capital acquisition proposals have been given ‘Acceptance of Need’ (AoN). About 82 percent of that procurement is expected to come from Indian industries. According to an ANI report, these clearances include various military equipment such as artillery systems, helicopters, counter-drone technology, surveillance and strike drones, naval missile defense systems, air defense equipment and meteorological radar.

These devices are approved

The DAC has approved the procurement of a number of equipment for the Indian Army, including high mobility vehicles, self-propelled tracked gun systems, gun shot response systems, light multi-role helicopters, very short-range air defense systems, counter-drone systems, surveillance UAVs, integrated surveillance and strike systems and long-range systems. These devices will strengthen troop mobility, firepower, battlefield surveillance and protection from air threats.

For the Indian Navy, the DAC has approved the procurement of an ‘Active Offboard Decoy System’ to improve defense against modern anti-ship missiles. Along with this, procurement of other indigenously designed and manufactured naval platforms has also been approved to enhance combat capabilities.

Multi-role helicopters are also allowed

For the Indian Air Force, DAC has approved procurement of helicopters, air defense systems, weapons and mobile X-band Doppler weather radar systems. ‘Special utility helicopters’ will assist in air transport, while radars will monitor local weather in advanced areas. The light multi-role helicopter will be useful for both the Army and the Air Force. In these DAC approvals, special emphasis has been laid on domestic defense production, as around 82 per cent of the proposed procurement is expected to come from Indian industries.