Other deals include Pinaka ammunition, armoured vehicle BMP armament upgrades and Software Defined Radio for Army, long range land attack cruise missile systems of over 1000 km range and Astra Beyond Visual Range air to air missiles for Navy and IAF
Amid the ongoing tensions on the border with China, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on Thursday approved defence deals worth ₹38,900 crore. This includes procurement of 21 MIG-29 fighter jets for the Indian Air Force, upgrade of 59 of them and procurement of 12 Su-30 MKI aircraft.
Other deals include Pinaka ammunition, armoured vehicle BMP armament upgrades and Software Defined Radio (SDR) for the Army, long range land attack cruise missile systems of over 1000 km range and Astra Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air to air missiles for the Navy and Air Force, all of which will be procured domestically and worth an estimated ₹31,130 crore.
“While the MIG-29 procurement and upgrade from Russia is estimated to cost ₹7,418 crore, the Su-30 MKI will be procured from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at an estimated cost of ₹10,730 crore,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement. This would shore up the squadron strength of the IAF’s fighter fleet.
The 21 MiG-29s have already been partially manufactured by Russia in the past for an unfulfilled order and will now be upgraded and delivered to India. These will add to the three of their squadrons in service that are already undergoing an upgrade. The 12 Su-30MKIs are meant to replace the aircraft that have crashed over the years.
India has in different batches contracted 272 Su-30s from Russia, majority of which have been licence manufactured by HAL.
The IAF currently has 30 fighter squadrons against a sanctioned strength of 42. It will start adding the first batch of Rafale multi-role jets this month end. Another deal for 83 Light Combat Aircraft Mk-1A, estimated to cost ₹38,000 crore, is expected to be signed in the next two months.
Role for indigenous industry
On the other systems and equipment, the statement said these would be manufactured in India involving indigenous industry with the participation of several Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) as prime tier vendors. “The indigenous content in some of these projects is up to 80% of the project cost. A large number of these projects have been made possible due to Transfer of Technology by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to the indigenous industry,”it stated.
These include the Pinaka Multi-barrel Rocket Launch System ammunition, BMP armament upgrades and SDRs, Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile Systems and Astra missiles. The cost of these Design and Development proposals was in the range of ₹20,400 crore.
On the missile systems, the Ministry said the acquisition of Pinaka systems would enable raising additional regiments over and above the ones already inducted by the Army. Addition of Long Range Land Attack Missile Systems, having a firing range of 1000 km to the existing arsenal, would bolster the attack capabilities of the Navy and the Air Force, it added.
Nirbhay, a long range land attack cruise missile with a range of over 1000 km, had been under development by the DRDO for sometime. It is equivalent to the Tomahawk cruise missile of the U.S.
The IAF has expressed satisfaction over the performance of the Astra BVR and is currently inducting the Astra Mk-I on the Sukhoi fleet. It is also keen on the Astra Mk-II variant being developed by the DRDO.
With inputs from The Hindu