On December 17, 2020, a Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Ministry of Defence (MoD) in New Delhi where 7 Capital Acquisition proposals regarding military hardware worth Rs. 28,000 Crore were approved.
- The procurement proposals include various Weapons/Platforms/Equipment/Systems required by the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force (IAF).
- This was the first meeting under the new regime of Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP), 2020 and these are the first set of Acceptance of Necessity (AoNs).
Points to be noted:
–The approved Acquisition proposals include DRDO designed and developed 6 Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) Systems or Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) for IAF, 11 Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels for the Indian Navy and Modular Bridges for the Indian Army.
— The majority AoNs being accorded in the highest categorisation of Buy Indian i.e. indigenous design, development and manufacture (IDDM).
- The 6 out of the 7 proposals worth Rs 27,000 cr will be procured from domestic industry in order to push “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiatives of the Government.
The major approvals are detailed as below:
Procurement of 6 AEW&C Systems for IAF
The Government has sanctioned Rs 10,994-crore project for the development of six AEW&C or AWACS Block-2 aircraft for IAF. They will be developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation Centre for Airborne Studies lab (DRDO CABS) and is expected to be completed in 6 years.
- AEW&Cs are regarded as “eyes in the sky” because of their ability to detect and track incoming fighters, cruise missiles and drones faster than ground-based radars. They also act as an aerial control room for missions while keeping track of ships out at sea.
Point to be noted:
As per the earlier proposal, the AEW&C systems were to be put on two larger A-330 wide body jets that were to be procured from Airbus. However, now the existing six Airbus aircraft (A320s) will be converted by Airbus based on the requirements to save the overall cost of the project. Then the indigenous Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar will be mounted on them.
Procurement of 11 next-generation Offshore Patrol Vessels for Indian Navy
The DAC also approved the procurement of 11 next-generation Offshore Patrol Vessels for Indian Navy (NGOPVs) worth over Rs 9,000 crore. This was approved after the scrapping of a tender for acquiring five Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels from Anil Ambani-owned Pipavav Shipyards by government
- The other proposal to acquire 38 naval versions of the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile was also cleared.
- DAC also approved the Navy’s proposal to acquire ship-launched, unmanned aerial systems for Rs 1,000 crore.
Airborne Warning And Control Systems (AWACS India)
The strategic programme to develop a next generation of airborne warning and control systems (AWACS India) that will act as a major force multiplier for the air force was cleared in 2015 but orders had not been placed for the platform.
DRDO will oversee structural modifications and adaptations for a 10 m rotodome that will be mounted on the aircraft. The system will have an electronically scanned array radar that will give 360 degree radar coverage. The air force estimates that at least two indigenous AWACS will be inducted into service by 2025.
Recent Related News:
i.On November 9, 2020, a model of Anti Satellite (A-SAT) Missile installed inside DRDO Bhawan premises, New Delhi, was unveiled by Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh.
ii.On November 19, 2020, Rajnath Singh virtually launched a Portal “Land Management System (LMS)”, it is the First LMS portal developed by the Department of Defence in association with Director General Defence Estates (DGDE) and Armed forces.
About Ministry of Defence (MoD):
Rajnath Singh Constituency– Lucknow,Uttar Pradesh
Minister of State (MoS)– Shripad Yesso Naik
