The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has approved four significant defence deals totaling approximately £3.5 billion to enhance the combat capabilities of the armed forces. This includes the largest-ever contract for the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles.
According to sources cited by media, the CCS has cleared a contract worth almost £1.95 billion for over 220 extended-range BrahMos missiles, equipped with a strike range of 450 km, to be deployed on frontline warships of the Navy. The contract is expected to be signed in early March. Additionally, another deal given the green light is the procurement of new advanced engines for existing MiG-29 fighters, to be manufactured by HAL in collaboration with Russia, at a cost of £530 million.
The remaining two projects entail the procurement of high-powered radars and new versions of L-70 air defence guns, both to be manufactured by L&T with the integration of foreign technology, each costing almost £500 million, as per sources. The BrahMos missiles, jointly manufactured with Russia in India, fly at nearly three times the speed of sound at Mach 2.8. They have emerged as the primary non-nuclear precision-strike weapon for the armed forces, with contracts worth over £3.8 billion already signed.
“The new £1.95 billion contract, which is the first consolidated order for extended-range BrahMos missiles, will add to this. Till now, upgrades of existing 290-km range missiles were being done when the warships came in for maintenance,” a source said.