Defence Acquisitions

In a boost to India's defence capabilities, the Cabinet Committee on Security, led by PM Modi, is expected to approve the acquisition of 31 MQ-9B Predator drones from the US for $3.1 billion

Ukraine made a new call Saturday on the West to allow it to strike deeper into Russia after a meeting between US and British leaders a day earlier produced no visible shift in their policy on the use of long-range weapons. Russian terror begins at weapons depots, airfields, and military bases inside the Russian Federation, Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak said Saturday. Permission to strike deep into Russia will speed up the solution. The renewed appeal came as Kyiv said Russia launched more drone and artillery attacks into Ukraine overnight. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly called on allies to greenlight the use of Western-provided long-range weapons to strike targets deep inside Russian territory. So far, the US has allowed Kyiv to use American-provided weapons only in a limited area inside Russia's border with Ukraine. Discussions on allowing long-range strikes were believed to be on the table when US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) is likely to discuss proposals of mega projects worth around Rs 1.2 trillion for approval in a meeting scheduled for today.

The defence ministry on Monday approved procurement of navigation system for armoured fighting vehicles of the Indian Army and 22 interceptor boats for the Coast Guard. The acquisition proposals were cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) that was chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The cost of the procurement of the navigation system and the interceptor boats is not immediately known. The DAC deliberated on a number of other capital acquisition proposals, the defence ministry said without elaborating. "Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) was accorded to the procurement of Advanced Land Navigation System (ALNS) for Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFVs) of the Indian Army. The system is spoof-proof with high levels of encryption," it said. It said the ALNS Mk-II is compatible with Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, NAVigation using Indian Constellation in addition to Global Positioning System (GPS) and Global Navigation Satellite System. The ministry said ALNS Mk-

If the deal goes through, the Indian Air Force's fleet of Mirage fighter jets will jump to 60. They have been part of several key missions, including the Balakot airstrikes

The move will give a boost to Centre's push for 'make in India' initiative in a bid to promote self-reliance in the defence sector and overall economic growth

From its March 2023 lows, shares of Astra Microwave Products has more-than-doubled by surging 106 per cent on the bourses

Rajnath Singh stated that efforts were being made to create a strong, and tech-savvy armed forces on the back of a robust defence industry

Addressing a gathering at the valedictory ceremony of Aero India Show here, Singh said that in the last few years, the respect for the Indian defence industry is increasing

KRAS is a joint venture set up by Israeli company, Rafael, in partnership with Kalyani Strategic Systems

In the programme organised at Manekshaw Centre in Delhi Cantonment, he said that logistics is one of the sectors which has benefited the most from this collaboration

The defence ministry has set up an apex committee to conduct "performance and efficiency" audit of capital procurements, logistics, inventory and maintenance of assets of the armed forces. The committee, headed by the defence secretary, will advise Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on measures for overall improvement in strengthening of internal oversight and risk management framework in various aspects of functioning of the ministry. The panel comprises vice chiefs of the three services, secretary defence (finance), chief of integrated staff committee, controller general of defence accounts and director general (acquisition) and other senior officials of the ministry, including representatives from the Defence Research and Development Organisation. The setting up of the committee comes amid efforts to streamline the military procurement procedures and focus on enhancing the country's overall combat readiness. "The Ministry of Defence has set up an institutional mechanism comprising o

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday held talks with British Minister of Defence Procurement Jeremy Quin, focusing on bilateral cooperation in areas such as aviation and shipbuilding. "Had a wonderful meeting with the UK Minister of Defence Procurement, Mr. Jeremy Quin. We discussed the opportunities available in areas pertaining to aviation, ship building and other defence industrial programmes for both the countries," Singh tweeted. The talks between Singh and Quin took place days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Boris Johnson agreed on a new and expanded India-UK defence partnership. During his visit to India last week, Johnson announced that the UK is creating an Open General Export Licence (OGEL) for India to "reduce bureaucracy and slashing delivery times" for defence procurement and that London will help New Delhi in the co-development of military hardware including indigenous production of fighter jets.

In a drive to strengthen the indigenous arms industry, 64 per cent of capital outlays in the 2021 Indian military budget was earmarked for acquisitions of domestically-produced arms, the report said

The five largest spenders in 2021 were the United States, China, India, the United Kingdom and Russia, together accounting for 62 per cent of expenditure, it said

These weapons and platforms will be incrementally banned for import, with some items embargoed from December 2022, and additional items added each December until 2027

The problematic issue, though, is India's paltry share in the world's exports

Due to financial constraints, the Philippines has struggled for years to modernise its military, one of the most underfunded in Asia

Make in India for defence equipment is languishing in the absence of large orders that can make local production viable

India had signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems