Kamal Ghorui
In a big boost for the capabilities of the armed forces, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by defence minister Rajnath Singh has accorded the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for the procurement of equipment worth Rs 2.38 lakh crore. DAC has cleared the procurement of major defence equipment such as 60 Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and five additional squadrons of the battle tested S-400 Surface to Air Missile (SAM) systems, the Dhanush artillery gun and an Air Defence Tracked System. The MTA will replace the aging workhorse of the IAF’s transport fleet the An-32. The new aircraft is expected to carry a payload between 18-30 tonnes. The aircraft is expected to bridge the capability gap between the Il-76 and the An-32s. Of these aircraft, 12 would be acquired in fly-away condition while the remaining aircraft will be manufactured in India. The frontrunners to replace this aircraft are the Brazilian Embraer C-390, which comes with a 26 tonnes payload capacity and the European Airbus A400M, with a 37 ton payload capacity. Lockheed Martin’s C-130J, an aircraft the IAF already operates is also in the fray.Embraer has already partnered with Mahindra Aerospace. Airbus is yet to announce a domestic partner. These aircraft will replace the aging workhorse of the IAF’s transport fleet the An-32. The new aircraft is expected to carry a payload between 18-30 tonnes. The aircraft is expected to bridge the capability gap between the Il-76 and the An-32s.Of these aircraft, 12 would be acquired in fly-away condition while the remaining aircraft will be manufactured in India. The frontrunners to replace this aircraft are the Brazilian Embraer C-390, which comes with a 26 tonnes payload capacity and the European Airbus A400M, with a 37 ton payload capacity. Lockheed Martin’s C-130J, an aircraft the IAF already operates is also in the fray. Embraer has already partnered with Mahindra Aerospace. Airbus is yet to announce a domestic partner.The IAF has also cleared five additional squadrons of the S-400 SAM system. The S-400 can take out targets as far as 400 kilometers away. The missile was used during the active phase of Operation Sindoor and has shot down a Pakistani aircraft at a distance of 300 kilometers, a world record. IAF currently has three squadrons of the S-400 system, while two other squadrons are expected to be delivered this year.The top defence ministry procurement body has also cleared the procurement of 300 additional units of the indigenously manufactured Dhanush artillery gun system. This is a follow-on order of the guns, previously the army had 114 of these guns. Procurement of armoured piercing ammunition for tanks has already been cleared.The defence minister has also cleared the deck for the procurement of various types of drones, Al-31 jet engines for the Su-30 MKI fleet and heavy duty hovercrafts for the coast guard.Most of the new equipment such as the will go through a set procedure set under the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020. These steps are Request for Proposal (RFP), this will be followed by a series of technical, field and stall trials and evaluations. Post the trials there will be price negotiations and clearance from the Prime Minister chaired Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) before the signing on the dotted line, a process that may stretch for years.In the Financial Year 2025-26, AoN for 55 proposals amounting to Rs 6.73 lakh crore has been accorded by the DAC. Moreover, capital procurement contracts have been signed for 503 proposals amounting to Rs 2.28 lakh crore in the current fiscal year. Both the quantum of AoN given and capital contracts signed, so far, has been the highest in any given Financial Year.
