DAC Approves Procurement of Military Equipment, platforms worth Rs 76,390 Crores
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved proposals for the procurement of military equipment and platforms including eight next-generation corvettes for the Indian Navy, wheeled armoured fighting vehicles and bridge laying tanks for the Indian Army, and the manufacture of aero-engines for the Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force.
In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said the DAC, at a meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, “accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for Capital Acquisition Proposals of the Armed Forces amounting to Rs 76,390 crore under ‘Buy (Indian)’, ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ and ‘Buy (Indian-IDDM)’ categories”.
The planned next-generation corvettes will be designed entirely by the Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design and executed by an Indian shipyard through a competitive bid. This will allow the private industry to bid. Earlier the norm was that a shipyard had to be nominated. The new warships will eventually replace the Khukri and Kora class corvettes.
To provide a boost to the Indian defence industry and “reduce foreign spending significantly,” the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved proposals for the procurement of military equipment and platforms including eight next-generation corvettes for the Indian Navy, wheeled armoured fighting vehicles and bridge laying tanks for the Indian Army, and manufacture of aero-engines for the Su-30 MKI fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force.
In the statement, the ministry said, “For the Indian Navy, the DAC accorded AoN for procurement of Next Generation Corvettes (NGC) at an estimated cost of approx. Rs 36,000 crore. These NGCs will be versatile platforms for a variety of roles viz. surveillance missions, escort operations, deterrence, Surface Action Group (SAG) operations, Search & Attack and Coastal Defence. These NGCs would be constructed based on the new in-house design of the Indian Navy using the latest technology of shipbuilding and would contribute to further the Government’s initiative of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region).”
“For the Indian Army, the DAC accorded fresh AoNs for procurement of Rough Terrain Fork Lift Trucks (RTFLTs), Bridge Laying Tanks (BLTs), Wheeled Armoured Fighting Vehicles (Wh AFVs) with Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) and Weapon Locating Radars (WLRs) through domestic sources with emphasis on indigenous design and development,” it said.