NEW DELHI: Military modernisation proposals worth over Rs 54,000 crore, ranging from BrahMos missiles and six ‘Netra’ airborne earlywarning and control (AEW&C) aircraft to upgraded Russian engines for T-90 tanks, naval anti-aircraft missiles and torpedoes, were given preliminary nod by defence ministry on Thursday.
Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC) accorded “acceptance of necessity (AoN)” to additional Army regiments and IAF squadrons of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, whose strike range has been extended to 450km from the original 290km, worth around Rs 20,000 crore, sources told TOI.
BrahMos missiles, jointly manufactured with Russia in India, have become the “prime conventional (nonnuclear) precision-strike weapon” for the armed forces, with contracts worth over Rs 55,000 crore already inked over the years. The grant of an AON, of course, is just the first step in the long-winded procurement procedure that can take years before the final contract is inked. Towards this end, DAC also approved guidelines to reduce timelines at various stages to make the process “faster, more effective and efficient”.
Another key takeaway was the fresh AoN granted for six ‘Netra’ AEW&C Mark-1A aircraft or “eyes in the sky” for IAF to boost surveillance capabilities along the borders as well as help direct friendly fighters during air combat with enemy jets.
The new Netra aircraft, which will entail mounting indigenous active electronically scanned array antenna-based radars, electronic and signal intelligence systems on Brazilian Embraer-145 jets, will cost over Rs 9,000 crore. With IAF currently making do with just three Netra Mark-1 planes and three Israeli ‘Phalcon’ radars mounted on Russian IL-76 aircraft, India is lagging far behind Pakistan, let alone China, in this arena.
The Navy, in turn, got AoNs for additional indigenous shiplaunched Varunastra torpedoes and Russian Shtil antiaircraft missiles for its four 3,900-tonne upgraded Krivak-III class frigates. While the first frigate INS Tushil has sailed to India from Russia, the second will come later this year.
The other two are being built at Goa Shipyard with transfer of technology at a cost of around Rs 13,000 crore. AoN was also granted for procurement of 1,350 horsepower engines from Russia for T-90S ‘Bhishma’ mainbattle tanks, which currently have 1000 HP engines. The force has inducted around 1,300 T-90S tanks of the 1,657 being produced by the Heavy Vehicles Factory under licence from Russia. “The engine upgrade will enhance the battlefield mobility of these tanks especially in high-altitude areas by increasing the power to weight ratio,” an official said.
