Amid the ongoing standoff with China, the central government has approved 10 capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 1.45 lakh crore. The purchase of future-ready combat vehicles, air defense fire control radar, Dornier-228 aircraft, next-generation fast patrol and offshore patrol ships has been approved.
The Chief of Defense Staff, the three Army Chiefs, Defense Secretary and other top officials were present in the meeting held in South Block on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
The Defense Ministry is preparing to start major projects, including the construction of seven advanced frigates for the Indian Navy and the proposal to replace the Indian Army’s T-72 tanks with modern Future Ready Combat Vehicles (FRCV). In the meeting of the Defense Acquisition Council (DAC) held today, the central government has approved 10 capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 1.45 lakh crore for the three armies. This includes the purchase of combat vehicles, air defense fire control radars, Dornier-228 aircraft, the next-generation fast patrol and offshore patrol ships.
According to the media reports, the Indian Navy’s Project 17 Bravo includes the acquisition of seven new warships, which will be the most advanced stealth frigates ever built in India after the Nilgiri class frigates presently under construction. After getting approval from the DAC, tenders worth about Rs 70 thousand crore are expected to be issued to Indian shipyards under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, including private sector shipyards.
The tender will include category A shipyards Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited, Goa Shipyard Limited and Larsen & Toubro etc. Presently, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders and Garden Reach Shipbuilders are building frigates under Project 17A (Nilgiri-class), with four frigates being built at MDL and three at GRSE.
The meeting also discussed the Indian Army’s proposal to replace its Russian-origin T-72 tanks with 1,700 FRCVs. The Army plans to replace the T-72s with indigenous FRCVs, which will be built under the Make-1 process of the Defence Acquisition Procedure. Indian vendors will be required to build tanks with more than 60 % indigenous content and the key players are Bharat Forge and Larsen & Toubro. The Indian Army aims to complete the FRCV project in multiple phases, with around 600 tanks being built in each phase.
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