DAC approves proposals worth Rs 45,000 crore, including procurement of 12 Su-30MKIs for IAF

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said it is time to upgrade the ambitions towards indigenisation.

Government on September 15 approved a slew of proposals to bolster India's defence sector. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, approved a total of nine acquisition proposals totalling Rs 45,000 crore.

Among them, the ministry okayed the proposal for the procurement of 12 Su-30MKIs for the Indian Air Force, which would be manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The project would include manufacturing the aircraft and related ground systems. Per requirement, the Su-30MKIs will have to be equipped with more than 60 percent indigenous content.

These would be the most modern Su-30 MKI aircraft of the Indian Air Force; they will come mounted with multiple Indian weapons and sensors, Defence officials said.

“All these procurements will be made from Indian vendors under the Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured (IDMM)/Buy (Indian) category which will give a substantial boost to the Indian defence Industry towards achieving the goal of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Indian Air Force will also be getting avionic upgradation of Dornier aircraft to improve the accuracy and reliability for operations and the Dhruvastra Short Range Air-to-Surface Missile as a potent indigenous precision-guided weapon for indigenously built ALH Mk-IV choppers.

These aside, to enhance protection, mobility, attack capability and increased survivability of mechanised forces, the DAC also approved proposals to procure Light Armoured Multipurpose Vehicles (LAMV) and Integrated Surveillance and Targeting System (ISAT-S), and High Mobility Vehicle (HMV) Gun Towing Vehicles for swift mobilisation and deployment of Artillery Guns and Radars.

For the Indian Navy, the DAC approved the procurement of Next Generation Survey Vessels that will greatly enhance its capabilities in performing Hydrographic Operations.

Commenting on the approvals at the meeting, Rajnath said it is time to upgrade the ambitions towards indigenisation. “Rather than a threshold of 50 percent indigenous content for IDDM projects, we should aim for a minimum 60-65 percent indigenous content,” he said.

Singh directed the Chief of Defence Staff, Service Chiefs, Defence Secretary and DG (Acquisition) to work towards increasing the minimum indigenous content threshold in consultation with the Indian Industry.