India on Thursday gave preliminary approval to defense acquisition projects worth Rs 2.23 lakh crore. 97 in this Tejas This includes the purchase of light combat aircraft and 156 heavy combat helicopters. The Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) under the chairmanship of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh approved these projects. This approval has been given at a time when India is engaged in a military standoff with China at several places in eastern Ladakh.
The Defense Ministry said that 98 percent of the total procurement of Rs 2.23 lakh crore will be sourced from domestic industries and this move will give a major boost to the Indian defense industry in achieving the goal of self-reliance in defense industry.
The DAC also approved the Indian Air Force’s proposal to upgrade the Sukhoi-30 fighter fleet by state-run aerospace company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). DAC granted Approval of Requirement (AON) or preliminary approval for procurement of two types of anti-tank munitions namely ‘Area Denial Munitions’ (ADM) Type-2 and Type-3.
The apex military procurement body also approved another proposal to procure Medium Range Anti-Ship Missile (MRAShM) for the Indian Navy, besides purchasing Automatic Target Tracker (ATT) and ‘Digital Basal Computer’ (DBC) for T-90 tanks. ) also approved the acquisition and integration. The MRAShM is a light surface-to-surface missile that will be a primary offensive weapon on board various Indian naval ships.
Ministry “DAC has issued AON for procurement of Light Combat Helicopter for Indian Air Force and Indian Army and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) MK-1A for Indian Air Force from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited under Procurement (Indian-IDDM) category,” it said. be provided.’
It did not mention specific numbers, though official sources said 97 Tejas light combat aircraft (Mark 1A) are to be procured for the Indian Air Force and 156 light combat helicopters (LCH) are to be procured for the Army and Air Force. Are. In February 2021, the Defense Ministry signed a Rs 48,000 crore deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to procure 83 Tejas MK-1A jets for the Indian Air Force.