On Monday, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved proposals totaling ₹ 1.1 lakh crore aimed at enhancing the capabilities of the armed forces. The approved projects include advanced systems designed to improve the war-fighting capabilities of fighter jets, transport planes, and helicopters. Additionally, the package includes new advanced light helicopters, chemical biological radiological and nuclear (CBRN) reconnaissance vehicles for the army, and Arudhra radars for the navy, according to the defence ministry.
The DAC, headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh , also accorded its Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for a ground-based multi-purpose jammer (GBMPJ) for the IAF, the design, development, and subsequent procurement of marine gas turbines (MGT) for the navy, and high mobility vehicles for the army. Under India’s defence procurement rules, AoN by the council is the first step towards buying military equipment. The plan to boost the Indian Air Force’s capabilities includes a pilot project to integrate Russian-origin RVV BD long-range air-to-air missiles with Sukhoi-30 fighters, people aware of the matter said.
“Of the total AoNs accorded, approximately 98% of procurements will be made from the Indian Industry,” the defence ministry said.
The government aims to achieve defence manufacturing worth ₹ 3 lakh crore by 2029-30 — in 2025-26, India achieved defence production worth ₹ 1.8 lakh crore. Also Read I India moves to buy 5 more S-400s after Op Sindoor success; Russia sends cost proposal The systems cleared for the army include trawl tanks and Sarvatra bridge system.
The GBMPJ will provide effective jamming against radars of adversaries; the CBRN recce vehicles will be capable of detecting, identifying, monitoring and marking areas contaminated with CBRN agents; and Arudhra radars will replace the existing air route surveillance radars at various naval air stations and MGT, a warship propulsion system, will reduce dependency on foreign vendors, the defence ministry said. These systems “will provide composite crossings to fighting formations during operations in varied terrains,” the defence ministry said in a statement.
