NEW DELHI: The defence ministry on Monday accorded preliminary approval to a range of military modernisation projects worth around Rs 79,000 crore, spanning missile acquisitions, drones, artillery upgrades, and indigenous defence systems.
The largest project to receive Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) from the Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) was a Rs 30,000-crore proposal to procure a large number of missiles for the Barak-8 medium-range surface-to-air missile system for the Indian Air Force and Navy. Jointly developed with Israel, the Barak-8 missiles have an interception range of over 70 km and were recently deployed as part of India’s layered air defence during cross-border hostilities in May, sources said.
The DAC also approved the leasing of two additional MQ-9B ‘Predator’ high-altitude, long-endurance drones at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore for a three-year period. These drones will supplement the two already operated by the Navy for long-range maritime surveillance and serve as an interim capability until India receives 31 armed MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft under the $3.8-billion deal signed with the US in October last year, with deliveries expected in 2029–30.
Another major clearance was given to the long-pending acquisition of six mid-air refuelling aircraft for the IAF, valued at over Rs 9,000 crore. Under the plan, Israel Aerospace Industries will convert six second-hand Boeing 767 commercial aircraft into aerial tankers. A fresh AoN was required as the procurement process resulted in a single-vendor situation, sources said.
Among indigenous projects, the DAC approved range-extension programmes for the Astra Mark-2 air-to-air missile and the Pinaka guided rocket system. The Pinaka system, which currently has a strike range of up to 75 km, is being upgraded to reach 120 km following successful trials, with plans to eventually extend its range to 300 km. The Defence Research and Development Organisation is also working to increase the Astra missile’s range from the existing 100 km to 200 km, with the IAF expected to initially order 600–700 Astra-2 missiles. A longer-range Astra-3 variant is also under development.
The council further cleared the procurement of additional French-origin Meteor air-to-air missiles for Rafale fighter jets, along with Israeli guidance kits for Spice-1000 precision-guided bombs.
Approval was also granted for the acquisition of around 850 kamikaze drones or loitering munitions for the Army’s ‘Shaktibaan’ and ‘Divyastra’ artillery units at an estimated cost of Rs 2,000 crore. These systems will be manufactured in India, either indigenously or through foreign collaboration. In addition, the indigenous Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction System (Mark-2), equipped with 30-kilowatt laser capability to neutralise hostile drones at ranges up to 3.5 km, received the green light.
The DAC also cleared proposals for the overhaul of Mi-17 helicopters in Russia and T-90S main battle tanks in India, along with the procurement of low-level lightweight radars, naval tugs, full-mission simulators for Tejas fighter jets, automatic take-off and landing recording systems for the IAF, and high-frequency software-defined radios for secure long-range communications.
