The Ministry of Defence has signed a Rs 2,385.36 crore contract with Bharat Electronics Limited, Bengaluru, for the acquisition of Electronic Warfare (EW) suites and aircraft modification kits as well as their installation on Mi-17 V5 helicopters, along with associated equipment, for the Indian Air Force.

A statement from the MoD stated that the contract, under Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured) category, was inked in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, here on Monday.

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The Buy (Indian-IDDM)’ category refers to the procurement of products from an Indian vendor that have been indigenously designed, developed and manufactured with a minimum of 50 percent Indigenous Content (IC) on cost basis of the total contract value.

This state-of-the-art EW Suite will considerably enhance operational survivability of the helicopters in hostile environment. Majority of sub-assemblies and parts will be sourced from indigenous manufactures. The project will boost and encourage active participation of Indian electronics and associated industries, including MSMEs, the statement read.