New Delhi: The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) Thursday gave nod to purchases worth Rs 2.23 lakh crore, including for 97 Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mark 1A fighter jets and 156 Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Prachand, for enhancing the operational capabilities of the armed forces.
Chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the DAC also approved the upgradation of Sukhoi-30 fighter jets.
“Of the total 156 LCHs, 90 will go to the Army, while 66 will be bought by the Indian Air Force (IAF). A total of 84 Sukhoi-30 fighter jets will be upgraded,” a source in the defence establishment told ThePrint.
The aircraft will be procured from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category, the source said.
Acquisition worth Rs 2.20 lakh crore (98 percent) will be sourced from domestic industries, according to a statement by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) was also given to procurement of two types of anti-tank munitions — Area Denial Munition (ADM) Type-2 and Type-3 — capable of neutralising tanks and armoured personnel carriers.
“It is indeed a landmark event that the approval was given for procurement of 97 additional LCA mark 1A. You are aware that we had signed a contract for 83 LCA mark 1As, the deliveries for which are to start shortly in the next few months. We already had 40 LCAs of the original IOC and FOC version. So, with this, in the long run, the IAF strength will grow to 220 LCA mark 1As, which will equip almost 10 squadrons,” IAF chief Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari told news agency ANI.
Final Operational Clearance (FOC) involves addition of key capabilities, including Beyond Visual Range Missile and air-to-air refuelling, to the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) aircraft.
The air force chief added that with the winding down of MiG 21, MiG 27 and MiG 23 fleets in the past, this is an ideal fit to replace the depleting strength.
Another major decision taken at the DAC meeting was granting procurement of state-of-the-art Towed Gun System (TGS) to replace the Indian Field Gun (IFG). The TGS will become the mainstay of the Army’s artillery wing in the future, the MoD stated.
Nod was also given for procurement and integration of Automatic Target Tracker (ATT) and Digital Ballistic Computer (DBC) for T-90 tanks as well as for procurement of Medium Range Anti-Ship Missiles (MRAShM) for the Indian Navy, the MoD said.
To maximise indigenisation, the meeting approved a major amendment in the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 to ensure a minimum 50 percent of indigenous content in the form of material, components and software in all categories of procurements.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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