Approval
for 26 Rafale Marine and 3 Scorpene’s
A meeting of the Defence Acquisition
Council (DAC), held under the chairmanship of Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh,
approved three proposals on 13 July 2023. The DAC granted Acceptance of
Necessity (AoN) for procurement of 26 Rafale Marine aircraft along with
associated ancillary equipment, weapons, simulator, spares, documentation, crew
training and logistic support for the Indian Navy from the French Government
based on Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA). The price and other terms of
purchase will be negotiated with the French Government after taking into
account all relevant aspects, including comparative procurement price of
similar aircraft by other countries. Further, integration of Indian designed
equipment and establishment of Maintenance, Repair & Operations (MRO) Hub
for various systems will be incorporated into the contract documents after due
negotiations.
The
DAC also granted the AoN for procurement of three additional Scorpene
submarines under Buy (Indian) category which will be constructed by Mazagon
Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL). The procurement of additional submarines, with
higher indigenous content, will not only help in maintaining required force
level and operational readiness of the Indian Navy, but also create significant
employment opportunities in the domestic sector. It will also help the MDL in
further enhancing its capability and expertise in submarine construction.
Rafale Marine
Scorpene
Acquisition of MQ-9B UAVs
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), on 15 June
2023, accorded the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for acquisition of 31 MQ-9B
(16 Sky Guardian and 15 Sea Guardian) High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE)
Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for Tri-Services from the USA through
Foreign Military Sale (FMS) route. The AoN included the number of UAVs to be
procured along with associated equipment.
MoD
& HAL contract for two upgraded Dornier’s for ICG
Ministry of Defence signed, in New Delhi on 7 July
2023, a contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for procurement of
two Dornier Do-228 aircraft for Indian Coast Guard (ICG) along with associated
Engineering Support package at an overall cost of Rs 458.87 crore. The aircraft
will be procured under the Buy (Indian) Category. The aircraft will be
fitted with a number of advanced equipment viz., Glass Cockpit, Maritime Patrol
Radar, Electro Optic Infra-Red device, Mission Management System etc. The
addition will further bolster the aerial surveillance capability of maritime
areas of responsibilities of the ICG. The Dornier aircraft are being indigenously
manufactured at HAL (Transport Aircraft Division), Kanpur and will
significantly contribute in achieving Aatmanirbharta in defence, in consonance
with the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Government.
Indian
Army contract for Tactical LAN Radio
Continuing with the commitment towards 'Make
in India' initiative the Indian Army has signed the second procurement contract
through Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) on 9 June 2023. The contract
with Astrome Tech Pvt Ltd, Bangalore for procurement of indigenously developed
‘Tactical LAN Radio' was signed in presence of Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar, the
Vice Chief of Army Staff at New Delhi. Tactical LAN solution is being developed
indigenously for creating secure tactical LAN in remote and difficult terrain.
‘Tactical LAN Radio' is a state of the art high bandwidth backhaul wireless
radio equipment for provisioning of reliable and failsafe communication.
BEL receives orders worth Rs. 2,191
Cr
Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has
received new Defence and non-Defence orders worth Rs. 2,191 Cr. The orders are
for supply of Long Range Guidance Kit with Warhead, Airborne V/UHF Jammer,
Battlefield Surveillance Radar (Short Range) Upgrade, Missile Guidance Radar
& Control Centre, Upgraded Radio Relay (F) with Data Modem Encryption Unit
Mk II, Identify Friend or Foe Mk XII A, Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water
Craft (ASW SWC) Sonar and Spares. These orders are in addition to the Rs. 5,900
Cr orders, which are already received. With this, BEL has in all received
orders to the tune of Rs. 8,091 Cr till now in the financial year 2023-24.
Contract for Indian Army’s communication
system
Giving a further boost to indigenous
manufacturing of defence equipment and incentivise the private sector to engage
in realising the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Ministry of Defence inked a
contract on 15 June 2023 in New Delhi with ICOMM Tele Limited, Hyderabad for
the procurement of 1,035 numbers of 5/7.5 Ton Radio Relay Communication
equipment containers. The value of the contract under Buy (Indian) Category is
nearly Rs 500 crore. The delivery of the containers is scheduled to commence
from the current Financial Year 2023-24.
Zen Technologies in order from MoD
Zen Technologies Ltd,
a provider of military training and anti-drone solutions, has won a significant
order win from the MoD valued at Rs. 202 crores. The Company “looks forward to
securing additional sizeable contracts within the next quarter”. The company
specialises in manufacturing state-of-the-art land-based military training
simulators, driving simulators, live range equipment and anti-drone systems.
