DAC approves Rs 38,900 cr capital acquisition of equipment for armed forces; 33 fighter jets to be procured

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has given its consent for the capital acquisition of various platforms and equipment required by the Indian Armed Forces, Army, Navy and the Air Force, worth Rs 38,900 crore. This decision was taken during the DAC meet held on July 2, 2020 under the chairmanship of Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister) Rajnath Singh.

• Notably, these approvals include acquisitions of Rs 31,130 crore from Indian industry signifying Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s clarion call for ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ focused on indigenous design and development.

Key Points:

-The equipments will be manufactured in India with the participation of Indian defence industry and several Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) as prime tier vendors. 

-The indigenous content in some of these projects is up to 80 per cent of the project cost. A large number of these projects have been made possible due to the Transfer of Technology (ToT) by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to the indigenous industry.

Projects to be developed for capital acquisition; Cost ranges Rs 20,400 crore

The cost of the design and development of the projects to be manufactured for the capital acquisition is in the range of Rs 20,400 crore. The projects include the following:

• BMP armament upgrades and software defined radios for the Indian Army.
• Pinaka ammunition: Acquisition of Pinaka missile systems will enable raising additional regiments over and above the ones already inducted. It is all-weather, indirect fire, free flight artillery rocket system.
• Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile (LRLACM): Having a firing range of 1,000 kilometres to the existing arsenal,  LRLACM  addition will bolster the attack capabilities of the Navy and the Air Force.
• Astra Missiles: Induction of Air-to-Air Missile (AAM) Astra, having Beyond Visual Range (BVR) capability, will serve as a force multiplier to the strike capability of the Navy and Air Force. 

DAC approved procurement of 33 fighter aircrafts & upgradation of existing 59 Mig-29 aircraft 

DAC also approved the proposal for procurement of 33 fighter jets including 21 MIG-29 ((Mikoyan-Gurevich) and 12 Su-30 MKI (Modernizirovannyi, Kommercheskiy, Indiski where ‘Su’ is Sukhoi) aircraft along with upgradation of existing 59 MIG-29 aircraft.

• The MIG 29 procurement and upgradation from Russia is estimated to cost Rs 7,418 crore.

• The Su-30 MKI will be procured from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), India at an estimated cost of Rs 10,730 crore.

About Defence Acquisition Council (DAC):

DAC is chaired by Defence Minister (Currently-Rajnath Singh) which provide approvals to Capital acquisitions in the Long Term Perspective Plan (LTPP)

About Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD)– R. Madhavan
Headquarter– Bengaluru, Karnataka