The Acquisition wing of Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed INR 1, 188 Crore deal with Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL) for acquiring 4, 960 MILAN-2T Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) for the Indian Army. The deal will boost the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Indian Government.
- The induction of 4, 960 tanks is expected to be completed in three years.
- MILAN-2T missiles have a range of 1, 850 metres. They are capable of being fired from ground as well as vehicle-based launchers.
- MILAN-2T is being produced by BDL under license from French defence major MBDA Missile Systems.
- The acquisition is expected to enhance the operational readiness of the Indian Army.
- The deal will be a big opportunity for the Defence Industry in India to achieve ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ in the defence sector.
Signatories
The contract was signed by Dipti Mohil Chawla, Joint Secretary (AM & LS) on behalf of Ministry of Defence & Commodore T N Kaul (Retd), Executive Director (marketing) on behalf of BDL.
Background
The latest order is basically a ‘Repeat Order’ of contract, which was signed with BDL on March 8, 2016.
Features
- MILAN-2T is a man portable (Infantry) Second-Generation ATGM.
- It is capable of destroying battle tanks fitted with explosive reactive armour, moving and stationary targets.
- It can be deployed in both Anti-Tank Roles for both offensive & Defensive tasks.
- MILAN-2T Missile is a product of Euromissile, a Franco-West German missile development program
Boost for Domestic Manufacturing Industries
Many defence items have been earmarked exclusively for production in India by the Ministry of Defence.
- Government has released a list of negative imports. An Negative list essentially means that the 3 Armed Forces can procure the listed items only from the domestic manufacturers.
- Several of BDL’s products like Surface-to-Air Missile & Astra Air-to-Air weapon system are covered under the list.
- According to a report by SIPRI, India’s import of arms decreased by 33% between 2011-15 and 2016-20 due to its increased push for ‘Make-in-India’ initiative
Recent Related News:
i.On September 22, 2020 DRDO successfully test fired the Indigenously developed Laser Guided Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) from MBT Arjun at the Armoured Corps Centre and School (ACC&S), KK Ranges in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra.
About Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL):
CMD – Siddharth Mishra
Head Office – Hyderabad, Telangana
