The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) Thursday cleared a series of big-ticket procurements worth Rs 1.05 lakh crore for the Armed Forces — which includes armoured recovery vehicles (ARV), electronic warfare (EW) system, integrated common inventory management system for the tri-services and surface to air missiles.
According to the Defence Ministry, the DAC, headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), the first step in the long defence procurement process, for 10 capital acquisition proposals, all of which will be sourced indigenously. However, grant of AoN does not necessarily lead to a final order.
The DAC is the top body for clearing major capital acquisitions for defence. The Ministry in a statement Thursday said these procurements will provide higher mobility, effective air defence, better supply chain management and augment the operational preparedness of the Armed Forces.
All these procurements are significant in the backdrop of Operation Sindoor launched in May by India in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
The clearance to procure more surface to air missiles is likely based on India’s stellar performance during military hostilities with Pakistan following Operation Sindoor of surface to air missile systems such as the indigenously-made Akash medium range surface to air missile and S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system.
Officials told The Indian Express that Indian Mechanised Forces have long faced limitations in operations due to a lack of matching mobility between main battle tanks and ARVs.
“ARVs would be a critical element to boost the manoeuvring capabilities of tank units during a mechanised assault,” an official said explaining the significance of the decision to procure more ARVs.
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During Operation Sindoor, Electronic Warfare system and counter-Electronic Warfare platforms were found critical in negating the adversary’s communication and radar systems, providing technical superiority to the UAVs and aircraft launched by India.
“The decision to bolster their strength could be drawn as part of lessons from Operation Sindoor,” the official said.
Similarly, a Common Inventory Management System for the tri-services would improve cost efficiency of commonly used systems by the three services and provide pan-service visibility in terms of availability of weapon systems, allowing balancing of resources based on the theatre that is active.
The Defence Ministry said that AoNs were also accorded for procurement of Moored Mines, Mine Countermeasure Vessels, Super Rapid Gun Mount and Submersible Autonomous Vessels. “These procurements will enable mitigation of potential risks posed to the naval and merchant Vessels,” it said.
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The AoNs were accorded under the Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured) category to provide further impetus to indigenous design and development.
