New Delhi, July 3 (IANS). The government on Friday announced that the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting chaired by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has granted Approval of Need (AoN) to capital defense procurement proposals worth about Rs 52,000 crore to strengthen the operational capability of the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.
According to the Defense Ministry, these proposals include procurement of anti-drone systems, missiles, kamikaze drones, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for the Navy and high altitude surveillance platforms.
For the Indian Army, DAC has approved the procurement of ‘Akash Tarang’ anti-UAV electronic warfare system, Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM), Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM), Very Short Range Air Defense System (V-SHORADS), Active Protection System for tanks and jet based Kamikaze drone system.
According to the Defense Ministry, the Akash Tarang system will provide effective protection to various units of the Army from unmanned aerial threats such as drones. At the same time, MPATGM will strengthen the ability of army infantry to combat enemy armored and mechanized vehicles.
Additionally, the MRSAM system will provide protection against medium-range air threats, while the V-SHORADS will have multi-spectral sensor technology, allowing it to conduct air defense more effectively despite electronic countermeasures.
The active protection system approved for tanks will increase their protection capability and survival chances in the battlefield. At the same time, the jet-based Kamikaze drone system will provide more firepower and better survivability at lower cost along with strengthening electronic warfare capability.
For the Indian Navy, the Council approved proposals to establish Land Based Testing Facility (LBTF) for Multi Influence Ground Mine (MIGM), Naval Shipborne Unmanned Aerial System (NSUAS) and Electric Propulsion System.
According to the ministry, the MIGM will help in limiting the maritime activities of enemy ships. At the same time, NSUAS equipped with state-of-the-art sensors will further improve maritime surveillance and real-time situation information.
The proposed land based testing facility will play an important role in the development and testing of motor and electric propulsion systems for naval platforms.
DAC has approved the procurement of Fixed-Wing Based High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (FW-HAPS) for the Indian Air Force.
This platform will provide long-term capabilities such as Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), telecommunications and remote sensing. This will significantly increase the surveillance capability of the Air Force.
According to the Defense Ministry, Acceptance of Requirement (AON) is the initial in-principle approval given by the Defense Acquisition Council. After this the formal process of procurement of related defense equipment and systems is initiated. This is considered the first and important stage of the defense procurement process.
–IANS
DBP