India is second biggest arms importer and 23th on the exporters list.
Largest suppliers to India:
- RUSSIA 58%
- ISRAEL 15%
- USA 12% (source SIPRI )
Recently, upgraded defence procurement procedure 2020, that replaced DPP 2016. Have been enforced from 1/04/ 2020 to 31/03/2025.
Few new added features of DPP 2020:
- Shifting India into a global manufacturing hub. [ Under Atmanirbhar Bharat or Make in India initiative].
- Lease
- Post contract management
- Initiatives for software purchases
- After sale support
- Product export under offset partnership.
Latest defence deals:
1. Arjun Main Battle Tank (MK-1A) ‘Hunter Killers’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi handed over the indigenously developed Arjun Main Battle Tank (MK-1A) to the Indian Army. The Indian army will get indigenously designed, developed and manufactured by CVRDE and DRDO 118 units of the Main Battle Tank.
The Rs. 8,380-crore project led by Defence minister Raj Nath Singh, was given the Acceptance of Necessity (AON) by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC).
2. MQ-9B Guardian Drones
Months after leasing 2 American Sea Guardian drones, Indian armed forces have reportedly decided to jointly buy thirty (10 for each wing) armed versions of the American unmanned aerial system. The deal will be worth $ 3billion.
3. ADVANCED TOWED ARTILLERY GUN SYSTEM (ATAGS)
The indigenously developed Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System is a Towed 155 mm×52Cal caliber howitzer.
Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) in partnership with Bharat Forge of the Kalyani Group and the Tata Power SED.
Currently system under Advanced stage of development.
Specifications:
- Mass =18 tonnes (18 long tons; 20 short tons)
- Length =52 Caliber 8060 mm
- Barrel length =6975 mm
- Crew =6-8
In November 2020, after an investigation the gun has been cleared for further trials, one phase of winter and other summer trials to be completed by mid 2021, a defence official said.
4. Sharang Artillery Gun
Sharang, the 1st 130mm M-46 artillery gun upgraded to 155mm has handed over to the Indian Army by Ordnance Factory Board(OFB).
- Sharang is the 130mm artillery gun ‘up-gunned’ to 155mm, 45 calibre based on the Army’s tender.
- After upgradation range increased by 27 to 36km.
- Improvement in explosive capability and hence improvement in damage potential.
- All these steps will reduce the logistic trail of Indian army.
Contract of upgradation for 300, 130mm guns to 155mm within 4years with OFB.
5. Bhabha kavach
India’s cheapest and lightest (6.6 kg) indigenously developed bullet proof jacket ‘Bhabha Kavach’.
During August the armed forces had also placed a request for 2 lakh ‘Bhabha Kavach bullet-proof jackets’ to OFB.
The jacket has been named Bhabha Kavach as the nano-based technology was taken from the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre(BARC).
Ordnance Factory Board and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited (MIDHANI) defence organisations with transfer of carbon-nanomaterial technology from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) developed by Bhabha Kavach.
6. Sarvatra kavach
Major Anoop Mishra has been awarded Army Design Bureau Excellence Award for indigenously developing Sarvatra bulletproof jacket by ‘Army chief‘.
Sarvatra kavach can provide protection against various ammunition like sniper rifles.
It provides protection (full body armour suit) from neck to ankle and upper arms.
The project was sanctioned in June 2017 and initially the design and development of a Level IIIA soft body armour suit was sanctioned and was subsequently revised to include a Level IV hard armour panel inserts.
7. Prithvi 2 missile
Recently, night trial of indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi II missile was conducted in India.
The test was successful and conducted at the Integrated Test Range, Balasore, Odisha.
First trial of this surface to surface missile conducted in September 2020, the launch was conducted by strategic force command and the complete trial was monitored by DRDO.
FEATURES:
- Range of 25-350 kilometers.
- War head capacity 500 kg to 1000 kg.
- Liquid Propulsion Single Engine.
- Advanced inertial guidance system.
- This missile was 1st inducted into the Indian Defence in 2003.
8. Software Defined Radio Tactical (SDR-Tac)
Ministry of Defence and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) have signed a contract of (SDR-Tac) worth over Rs 1,000 crore on Feb 2021.
- The SDR-Tac is a 4 Channel Multi-band, Multi mode, 19’’ Rack mountable, ship borne Software Defined Radio system.
- It is intended to serve ship-to-shore, ship-to-air and ship-to-ship voice and data communication for network centric operations.
- It supports simultaneous operations of all the four channels covering V/UHF and L Band.
9. Switch UAV
The Switch unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an indigenously developed fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) hybrid tactical drone built by India-based UAV manufacturer ideaForge.
The exact number of drones has not been disclosed but the deal is worth $20 million and the delivery will take around one year.
Project Type-Fixed wing VTOL unmanned aerial vehicle
Take-off Weight-6.5kg
Line of Sight Range-15km
Flight Time-2 hours
10. India-Israel Defence deal for LMGs:
Indian government has signed a major contract with the Israel weapons industry to procure 16,479 Negev, 7.62×51mm (gas operated) light machine guns in Rs 880 crore for Indian army in March 2020.
11. Service medal
The Indian army has signed a contract of 17.27 lakh for the procurement of service medals of 17 different types.
12. Light Specialist Vehicle
Defence ministry has signed a contract of Rs 1,056 crore with Mahindra defence system limited(MDSL) for procurement of 1300 light specialist vehicles to Indian army. It’s indigenously developed and manufactured by MDSL. Demand completed within four years.
13. Kalyani M4
Ministry of defence head sign a order for M4 armored vehicles the vehicles will be built by Bharat forge of Kalyani group in partnership with paramount group, a South African defence equipment manufacturer. Testing has already been done during ladakh standoff with China.
Kalyani group had receive an order worth rupees 17 7.95 crore from ministry of defence.
14. SIG SAUER Assault rifles
Ministry of defence approved procurement of 72000 assault rifles worth rupees 780 crore from United States for Indian army.
India had acquired Sig sauer second batch under the fast-track procurement (FTP) programme.
It’ll replace existing 5.56x45mm INSAS rifles which is used by forces and manufactured in ordnance factory board.
15. AK-203 Rifles (Kalashnikov rifles)
Final decision on major deal for the manufacturing of AK 203 rifle in India, by Russia and India. This is advanced and latest version of AK-47 rifle and capable to replace (Indian small arms system) INSAS 5.56×45mm assault rifle. Indian army e has a requirement of 7,70,000 AK-203 rifles, of which 1lakh will be imported from Russia and rest manufactured in India.
Sources:
- Indian Express
- The hindu
- The Print
- Business insider
- Economic Times
- Images from different sources
-Suruchi Nagar