The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Thursday approved an acceptance of necessity (AoN) for 10 projects worth ₹1.05 lakh crore, including an electronic warfare system, an integrated common inventory management system and surface-to-air missiles, for the tri-services.
Sources said this was the first DAC meeting after Operation Sindoor and the acquisitions were mainly related to surveillance, air defence and maritime security.
The DAC, led by Rajnath Singh, is the defence ministry’s top decision-making body for capital acquisition.
The council also approved an AON for the procurement of moored mines, mine counter-measure vessels, super-rapid gun mount and submersible autonomous vessels.
“These procurements will provide higher mobility, effective air defence, better supply chain management and augment the operational preparedness of the armed forces…. These procurements will enable mitigation of potential risks posed to the naval and merchant vessels,” the defence ministry said.
All proposals have been cleared under the “Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured)” category to promote domestic defence manufacturing, which is intended to strengthen India’s self-reliance in defence production.
Sources said the procurement of quick reaction surface-to-air missiles, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and valued at ₹30,000 crore, was also discussed at the meeting. It is effective against targets up to 30km and can operate on the move with search and track capability.
The Indian Air Force is also looking to buy three I-STAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance) aircraft.
In March, the cabinet committee on security had given its nod to buy 156 light combat helicopters worth over ₹62,000 crore for the army and the air force from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.