Def Minister okays procurement of military equipment worth `9,100 cr

NEW DELHI: The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Tuesday approved the procurement of Rs 9,100 crore-worth of equipment for the defence forces, with the goal of indigenisation and self-reliance.

The approvals were accorded for two regiments of Akash Missile Systems under the ‘Buy (Indian)’ category from Bharat Dynamics Limited.

Also approved was the progressing of design and development of Individual Under Water Breathing Apparatus (IUWBA) for T90 Tanks.

The missile to be procured is an upgraded version of the previously inducted Akash missiles and will include seeker technology, possess 360-degree coverage and will be of compact configuration. The upgraded Akash Weapon System is operationally critical equipment which will provide protection to vital assets.

IUWBA is used by crew of tanks as a safety gear and is required by them for emergency escape when negotiating water obstacles while deep fording.

The DAC also accorded approval for the design and development of test equipment for Guided Weapons System of the T 90 Tank. The equipment is being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation

DRDO and will give an indigenous solution to the test equipment used for checking the Guided Weapon System of Tank T 90. The equipment earlier procured from foreign original equipment manufacturers has been developed indigenously and is in pursuit of the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.