The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), India’s key defence body for approving major military procurements, on Monday gave the green signal for acquisitions worth about Rs 1,10,000 crore for the armed forces.

The approved procurements include Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Recce Vehicles, High Mobility Vehicles (HMVs), Advanced Light Helicopters (ALHs), Arudhra Radars, Marine Gas Turbines (MGT) and Ground-Based Multi-Purpose Jammers, among others.

In a brief statement, the Ministry of Defence said that the DAC has accorded the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procuring 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.

Grant of AoNs or an in-principle administrative approval to proposed acquisitions is the first step in the defence procurement process. However, obtaining an AoN does not always lead to a final order.

The Defence Ministry statement noted that the CBRN recce vehicles will be capable of detecting, identifying, monitoring and marking areas contaminated with CBRN agents.

The HMVs will enhance operational capabilities, logistic support and mobility in challenging terrains, while the MMLs will achieve the desired operational capability in terms of fast and responsive minelaying in difficult terrains.

It added that the indigenous ALHs will execute complex missions across all terrains and operational situations for the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force, and the Trawl Tanks and Bridge System will be utilised to provide composite crossings to fighting formations during operations in varied terrains.

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The procurement of Arudhra Radars, Design & Development and subsequent acquisition of Marine Gas Turbines (MGT) have been cleared for the Indian Navy.

The Arudhra Radar is an indigenous 4D multi-function phased array radar developed by India’s DRDO and manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). It has electronic steering in both azimuth and elevation for surveillance, detection and tracking of aerial targets. The system will have target identification based on interrogations from a co-located Identification Friend or Foe system. Its successful trials have already been conducted by the Indian Air Force.

According to the statement, the Arudhra Radar will replace the existing Air Route Surveillance Radars at various Naval Air Stations.

The Marine Gas Turbine, a warship propulsion system, will reduce dependency on foreign vendors.

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Indian warships have traditionally been fitted with marine gas turbine generators imported from Russia. However, over the last three years, the Navy has been working to indigenise gas turbine parts and the compressor to reduce dependence on imports of spare parts for their maintenance and has been in talks with Indian firms.

In June this year, the Ministry of Defence on Friday signed a contract with Bharat Forge Limited for the acquisition of 12 sets of 1.25 MW Marine Gas Turbine Generators at a cost of around Rs 425 crore for onboard power generation on Kolkata-class ships of the Indian Navy. These marine gas turbine generators will have a minimum of 60% indigenous content.

The Ministry of Defence statement noted that for the IAF, 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.

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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, the statement noted.

Of the total AoNs accorded, approximately 98% of procurements will be made from the Indian Industry, the statement added.