The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on Thursday accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for capital acquisition proposals worth about Rs 7,800 crores.

To enhance the efficiency of the Indian Air Force, the DAC granted AoN for procurement and installation of Electronic Warfare (EW) Suite on Mi-17 V5 Helicopters under Buy (Indian-IDDM) category which will enhance better survivability of Helicopters. The EW Suite will be procured from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

Advertisement

The DAC also accorded AoN for procurement of a Ground-Based Autonomous System for mechanised infantry and armoured regiments which will enable various operations like unmanned surveillance, logistic delivery of ammunition, fuel & spares and casualty evacuation in the battlefield.

Proposals for procurement of 7.62×51 mm Light Machine Gun (LMG) and Bridge Laying Tank (BLT) have also been given the go-ahead by the DAC. While induction of LMG will enhance the fighting capabilities of infantry forces, the induction of BLT will result in faster movement of Mechanised Forces. The AoN for procurement of Ruggedised Laptops and Tablets for the Indian Army under Project Shakti has also been accorded. All these procurements will be sourced from Indigenous vendors only.

To enhance the operational capability of the MH-60R Helicopters of the Indian Navy, the DAC accorded AoN for the procurement of weapons for the same.