Defence ministry clears procurement of military hardware worth Rs 79,000 crore

New Delhi: The Defence Ministry on Monday approved military purchase worth Rs 79,000 crore including longer range Astra Mk-II beyond-visual-range missile for the Indian Air Force combat jets, and a number of weapons and radars to counter UAV attacks as seen during Operation Sindoor.

The shopping list approved by the Defence Acquisition Council, headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, also includes long-range precision guided rocket for Pinaka multi barrel rocket launchers, full mission simulators for Tejas Light Combat Aircraft for improved pilot training and leasing of high altitude, long endurance UAVs to keep an eye on the Indian Ocean Region.

“Astra Mk-II missiles with enhanced range will increase the capability of the fighter aircraft to neutralise adversary aircraft from a large stand-off range,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

The IAF currently uses Astra Mk-I missile with a range of 80-110 km. The Mk-II version of the home-grown BVR missile would have a range of upwards of 140 km with some versions having a range of over 200 km, sources said.

Originally developed for Tejas LCA, the Astra missiles are now fired also from Su-30 MKI jets. While the IAF looked at buying 700 of these missiles for its needs, the Defence Ministry didn’t mention the numbers sanctioned by the DAC.

An approval has also been accorded to long range guided rockets for Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers to enhance the range and accuracy that are needed for effective engagement of high value targets.

Within hours of the approval, the first successful trials of the long-range Pinaka rockets with 120 km range was successfully conducted by DRDO at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur. The existing Pinaka rockets have a range of 80 km. Four DRDO laboratories worked together to develop the rocket.

Other DAC green-lights include loiter munition for precision strike of tactical targets; low level light weight radars to detect and track small size, low flying unmanned aerial systems and integrated drone detection and interdiction system Mk-II with enhanced range to protect the vital assets of the Indian Army in tactical battle area and hinterland.

For the IAF, the acquisition panel also cleared guidance kits for SPICE-1000 bombs, full mission simulators for Tejas LCA and an automatic flight take-off landing recording system.

“Induction of the automatic take-off landing recording system will fill the gaps in the aerospace safety environment by providing high definition all-weather automatic recording of landing and take-off whereas the full mission simulator for LCA Tejas will augment pilots’ training in a cost effective and safe manner,” the ministry said.

The Indian Navy also received a go-ahead for buying bollard pull tugs to assist ships and submarines in berthing and manoeuvring in harbour and high-frequency software defined radio for secure communications.

All the DAC approvals are for the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) stage, which is the first step in India’s protracted defence procurement process. Subsequently the deals will have to be approved by the Finance Ministry and the Cabinet Committee on Security before commercial contracts are inked.