Preliminary approval was given by India for capital acquisition projects for the armed forces of £4.5 billion, including the purchase of 12 more Sukhoi-30MKI fighter planes, five next-generation naval survey vessels, about 800 light armoured multipurpose vehicles, and more than 200 Dhruvastra anti-tank guided missiles.
India's defence minister Rajnath Singh presided over the high-powered Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC) meeting and gave instructions to the top military officials and bureaucrats to strive for a minimum of 60-65% indigenous content rather than the current threshold of 50% for projects that are IDDM (indigenously designed, developed, and manufactured).
The major takeaway, of course, was the grant of “acceptance of necessity (AoN)” for the long-pending procurement of 12 Sukhoi-30MKI fighters for the IAF. The IAF currently has 260 of the 272 twin-seat Sukhois, which constitute the backbone of its combat fleet, with the bulk of them being licensed and produced by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) at an overall cost upwards of $12 billion from Russia. It will cost about £1.15 billion to purchase the 12 new Sukhois that will replace the ones that crashed. The choice is being made while plans are being finalised for a significant overhaul of the entire Sukhoi fleet, which will include new indigenous armaments, electronic warfare systems, and sensors.
It includes the procurement of around 800 light armoured multi-purpose vehicles and integrated surveillance and targeting systems for almost £200 million to enhance protection, mobility, attack capability and increased survivability of the Army’s mechanised forces.