The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) today cleared capital acquisition proposals worth over 1.10 lakh crore rupees for the defence forces. The approval was granted during a meeting of the Council held under the Chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The proposals include, procurement of Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Recce Vehicles, High Mobility Vehicles (HMV), Self-Propelled Mechanical Mine Layers (MML), Advanced Light Helicopters (ALHs), Trawl Tanks and Sarvatra Bridge System for the Indian Army. For the Indian Navy, Acceptance of Necessity was accorded for the procurement of Arudhra Radars, Design and Development and subsequent procurement of Marine Gas Turbines (MGT). Arudhra Radar will replace the existing Air Route Surveillance Radars at various Naval Air Stations and MGT, a warship propulsion system, will reduce dependency on foreign vendors. Meanwhile, for the Indian Air Force, approval was granted to various proposals to enhance the war-fighting capability of fighters, transports and helicopters. Approval was also accorded for procuring Ground-Based Multi-Purpose Jammer (GBMPJ) and installing Defence Forces Secure Access Card (DEFSAC) System.
Defence Ministry said that 98 percent of total procurements will be made from the Indian Industry. The CBRN Recce Vehicles will be capable of detecting, identifying, monitoring and marking of areas contaminated with CBRN agents. The HMVs will enhance operational capabilities, logistic support and mobility in challenging terrains. The MMLs will achieve the desired operational capability in terms of fast and responsive minelaying in difficult terrains. The ALHs will execute complex missions across all terrains and operational situations for the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force. The Trawl Tanks and Bridge System will be utilised to provide composite crossings to fighting formations during operations in varied terrains. The GBMPJ will provide effective jamming against radars of adversaries and DEFSAC will replace existing paper based Identity Card, Passes, Permits with an interoperable Radio Frequency Identification-based smart cards system.
