Page 11 - ADT JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2023 Online Magazine

457 billion. Rupees 12 billion has also been sanctioned for design & The air force also inducted its first indigenous
development and infrastructure. The IAF will undertake the infra- attack helicopter into service in October 2022,
structure development which will enable them handle repairs or with the HAL designed and developed light
servicing at their base repair depots (BRD), reducing the aircraft combat helicopter (LCH) entering service with
maintenance turnaround time resulting in increased availability of the newly raised No. 143 Helicopter Unit. The air
aircraft for operational exploitation. force has contracted HAL for 10 limited series
production (LSP) examples, while the army has
The Tejas Mk-1A contract is the first in the “Buy (Indian-IDDM)* ordered five LSP helicopters. In their initial LSP
category for procurement of combat aircraft.*IDDM stands for configuration, the LCH will have 45 per cent
Indian-Indigenously Designed Developed and Manufactured. HAL indigenous content by value which will pro-
is to deliver 73 LCA Tejas Mk-1A and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 trainers within gressively increase to more than 55 per cent
eight years of contract signature (February 2029). HAL is to deliver for series production (SP) helicopters.
the first 3 Tejas Mk-1As in 2024 and is due to deliver the remaining 80
aircraft in the following five years. HAL will manufacture these aircraft The LCH is capable of operating from high alti-
on two production lines located at Bengaluru, in Southern India. tude terrain and carry out precision strikes at
high altitude targets and will also be able to
The Tejas Mk-1A will be fitted with an Active Electronically Scanned perform missions such as combat search and
array (AESA) radar, beyond visual range (BVR) missile, electronic rescue (CSAR), destruction of enemy air defence
warfare (EW) suite and have mid-air airborne refuelling capabil- (DEAD), counter insurgency (CI) operations,
ity. According to information provided by the MoD, the indigenous against slow moving aircraft and remotely
content on the aircraft will eventually reach 60 per cent by the end piloted aircraft (RPAs), high altitude bunker
of the programme with about 250 out of 344 systems fitted on the busting operations and CI operations in jungle
aircraft being of indigenous origin. About 500 Indian firms including and urban environments in support of ground
micro, small & medium enterprises (MSME) will participate in the Tejas forces. Technologies related to the LCH’s glass
Mk-1A production programme. cockpit and composite airframe structure have
been indigenised with future SP production
examples to have even greater levels of indig-
enous content.

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) concluded its
maiden contract for procurement of 10 multi-
copter VTOL drones in December 2022. The ICG
plans to induct 100 additional drones by 2025,
to meet the ever-growing challenges in India’s
maritime zones and search & rescue region. HAL
also handed over the last of the 16 ALHs Mk-III
(Maritime) helicopters to the ICG in November
2022. The ICG will procure nine additional heli-
copters and a formal contract is expected soon.
HAL received the order for supply of 16 ALH
Mk III to the ICG in March 2017. ICG ALH Mk-III
helicopters features a maritime radar, electro
optical sensors, full glass cockpit, high-intensity
search light, advanced communication systems,
automatic identification system (AIS) as well as
a search-and-rescue homer and also a pintle
mounted machine gun.

PROCUREMENT OVERDRIVE
With a strong focus now on the procurement of
homegrown defence equipment as also that
which is manufactured under license from for-
eign OEMs in India, the MoD has announced
a series of procurement decisions. In January,
India’s defence acquisition council (DAC), which
is headed by Defence Minister Singh, approved
the acceptance of necessity (AoN) for three cap-
ital acquisition proposals, amounting to Rupees
©HAL 42.7 billion. The procurements, two for the Army
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