New Delhi, July 14: The defence ministry today approved a list of weapons, ammunition and hardware worth about Rs 30,000 crore that the armed forces want to acquire but with the caveat that most of them must be made in India.
On the list is a replacement for the army's basic anti-aircraft guns - the L-70 and the Zu-23mm - that are of 1950s vintage, acquired from the Swedish firm Bofors and the then USSR's Podolsky Electromechanical plant.
The defence ministry has stipulated that the army may acquire 428 guns that must be made in India. No Indian firm has yet demonstrated the capability to make the gun. In 2013, the government had issued a tender for the guns to Israeli, British, French, Russian and Polish firms. The tender was cancelled in 2014 because none of the firms responded as they did not find the contract lucrative enough.
The government expects that the tender issued to Indian firms in both the public and private sectors - among them Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Electronics, Tata Power SED, Punj Lloyd, Ordnance Factory Board and Bharat Forge - will help kick-start Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" initiative in the defence sector. The Indian firms will be permitted to tie up with foreign majors who are eligible to take a 49 per cent stake in joint ventures to bid for the contract.
The Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC) chaired by defence minister Manohar Parrikar also approved a deviation from the offsets - or reinvestment - provisions to exercise an option to purchase four additional P8i maritime surveillance aircraft from the US. The purchase is estimated to cost Rs 4,380 crore. The navy has already contracted eight P8i long-range maritime surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft made by Boeing. The additional four would be an outright purchase from the US.
Among the other approvals by the DAC today were:
♦ Upgrade of weapon and sensor suites for Delhi and Talwar class ships (six warships) for about Rs 2,900 crore. The Kashmir gun would be replaced with the Shtil missiles and a modified Frigat M2EM radar would be installed into the suites;
♦ Brahmos missile training facility at the naval base in Valsora, Gujarat, for about Rs 30 crore;
♦ Replacement of radar on Kora-class missile boats for about Rs 440 crore. The outdated Positiv-E Radars will be replaced by AMDR2D radars;
♦ Gigabit Ethernet Ship's Data network systems to be installed in Delhi-class ships (three) for about Rs 260 crore;
♦ DAC extended by six months the validity of a tender to buy four survey vessels estimated at Rs 2,324 crore;
♦ Twenty-three compact management systems for about Rs 624 crore for the navy's smaller vessels (missile boats and offshore patrol vessels);
♦ Air Combat Manoeuvring Instruction (ACMI) Systems and integration of ACMI pods in the navy's MiG 29K and Hawk fighter aircraft. This is seen as an essential training tool to monitor where the pilots flying the aircraft are and guide them into performing manoeuvres. Estimated cost, Rs 200 crore;
♦ Radio Frequency Identification System for officers, sailors and warships for about Rs 400 crore;
♦ Electronic warfare system called T-1 with an army corps to be replaced for about Rs 265 crore. Public sector Bharat Electronics will be contracted;
♦ 14,000 multi-spectrum camouflage nets for the army that cannot be easily detected by radar, visual or thermal signatures for Rs 310 crore. An Indian firm will be contracted after a competition;
♦ Purchase of Bimodular Charge System (propellants) for 155mm artillery guns. A total of 3.5 lakh modules will be contracted under an option clause from French firm Nexter.
India rider to arms buy nod
On the list is a replacement for the army's basic anti-aircraft guns - the L-70 and the Zu-23mm - that are of 1950s vintage, acquired from the Swedish firm Bofors and the then USSR's Podolsky Electromechanical plant.
The defence ministry has stipulated that the army may acquire 428 guns that must be made in India. No Indian firm has yet demonstrated the capability to make the gun. In 2013, the government had issued a tender for the guns to Israeli, British, French, Russian and Polish firms. The tender was cancelled in 2014 because none of the firms responded as they did not find the contract lucrative enough.
The government expects that the tender issued to Indian firms in both the public and private sectors - among them Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Electronics, Tata Power SED, Punj Lloyd, Ordnance Factory Board and Bharat Forge - will help kick-start Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India" initiative in the defence sector. The Indian firms will be permitted to tie up with foreign majors who are eligible to take a 49 per cent stake in joint ventures to bid for the contract.
The Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC) chaired by defence minister Manohar Parrikar also approved a deviation from the offsets - or reinvestment - provisions to exercise an option to purchase four additional P8i maritime surveillance aircraft from the US. The purchase is estimated to cost Rs 4,380 crore. The navy has already contracted eight P8i long-range maritime surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft made by Boeing. The additional four would be an outright purchase from the US.
Among the other approvals by the DAC today were:
♦ Upgrade of weapon and sensor suites for Delhi and Talwar class ships (six warships) for about Rs 2,900 crore. The Kashmir gun would be replaced with the Shtil missiles and a modified Frigat M2EM radar would be installed into the suites;
♦ Brahmos missile training facility at the naval base in Valsora, Gujarat, for about Rs 30 crore;
♦ Replacement of radar on Kora-class missile boats for about Rs 440 crore. The outdated Positiv-E Radars will be replaced by AMDR2D radars;
♦ Gigabit Ethernet Ship's Data network systems to be installed in Delhi-class ships (three) for about Rs 260 crore;
♦ DAC extended by six months the validity of a tender to buy four survey vessels estimated at Rs 2,324 crore;
♦ Twenty-three compact management systems for about Rs 624 crore for the navy's smaller vessels (missile boats and offshore patrol vessels);
♦ Air Combat Manoeuvring Instruction (ACMI) Systems and integration of ACMI pods in the navy's MiG 29K and Hawk fighter aircraft. This is seen as an essential training tool to monitor where the pilots flying the aircraft are and guide them into performing manoeuvres. Estimated cost, Rs 200 crore;
♦ Radio Frequency Identification System for officers, sailors and warships for about Rs 400 crore;
♦ Electronic warfare system called T-1 with an army corps to be replaced for about Rs 265 crore. Public sector Bharat Electronics will be contracted;
♦ 14,000 multi-spectrum camouflage nets for the army that cannot be easily detected by radar, visual or thermal signatures for Rs 310 crore. An Indian firm will be contracted after a competition;
♦ Purchase of Bimodular Charge System (propellants) for 155mm artillery guns. A total of 3.5 lakh modules will be contracted under an option clause from French firm Nexter.
India rider to arms buy nod
