Page 12 - ADT JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2023 Online Magazine

and one for the Navy will be pursued under the
Buy (Indian-IDDM) category. The AoN is the first
formal stage in the Indian procurement process,
which identifies that the system will be procured
to meet an armed forces need.

An indigenously developed anti-tank guided
missile (ATGM) has been selected for use on the
Dhruv MkIV ‘Rudra’ Weapon System Integrated
(Dhruv Mk4) armed helicopter. The DRDO devel-
oped HELINA ATGM could also be integrated
on the new LCH. The HELINA ATGM successfully
concluded multiple flight tests in April 2022 at
different high-altitude ranges as part of user
validation trials for the army and air force. The
helicopter based nag (HELINA) can engage
targets both in direct hit mode as well as top
attack modes. A variant of the HELINA called
Dhruvastra is also being developed by DRDO for
the air force. Successful flight tests took place
in July 2020 for the same.

Another indigenous acquisition for the army
is the procurement of a very short range air
defence (VSHORAD) system also under devel-
opment with DRDO. According to the MoD, in
view of the recent developments along the ©HAL
India’s Northern borders there is a need to focus
on effective Air Defence (AD) weapon systems The navy was granted approval to procure naval anti-ship missiles,
which are man portable and can be deployed multi-purpose vessels and high endurance autonomous vehicles,
quickly in rugged terrain and maritime domain. while the army was the biggest beneficiary with procurement
The Navy procurement approval is related to approval granted for acquiring futuristic infantry combat vehicles
acquisition of Brahmos launchers and fire con- (FiCV), light tanks and mounted gun systems (MGS)amongst others.
trol systems (FCS) for the Shivalik class of ships DRDO is pursuing an indigenously-developed naval anti-ship mis-
& next generation missile vessels (NGMVs). sile. The maiden test of the naval anti-ship missile, took place in
May 2022, when it was launched from a Naval Helicopter from the
In December 2022, AoNs were granted for 24 Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha in
capital acquisition proposals - six each for May. This is the first time that an indigenous air launched anti-ship
the army and air force, 10 for navy and two for missile system is being developed for the navy. DRDO has developed
Indian Coast Guard (ICG). These procurements an indigenous launcher for the release of the sea skimming anti-ship
will have a total value of Rupees 843 billion. As missile from naval helicopters.
per India’s MoD, 21 proposals, worth Rs 82,127
crore (97.4 per cent) approved for procurement MILESTONE DEAL
would be from indigenous sources. The air force India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of
received procurement approval for induction a transport aircraft manufacturing project for the IAF at Vadodara,
of a new range of missile system, long range in the Western Indian State of Gujarat. The event which took place
guided bombs, range augmentation kits for in November, last year, marked the formal commencement of the
conventional bombs and advanced surveillance Indian effort to manufacture C-295MW transport aircraft in India.
systems. In the same month, the Indian Air Force This is the first instance in India of a military aircraft being manu-
(IAF) successfully test fired the extended range factured by a private company. Previously, all military aircraft in the
version of the BrahMos air launched cruise mis- country were produced by the state-owned airframer, HAL.
sile (ALCM) from a SU-30MKI aircraft against a
ship target. The IAF is the only operator of the
BrahMos ALCM and the new extended range The Indian MoD had entered into a deal with Airbus Defence and
Space S.A., Spain in September 2021 for procurement of 56 C-295MW
version enhances the IAF’s ability to carry out transport aircraft worth Rupees 219 billion. The first 16 aircraft will be
precision strikes against land/ sea targets over
very long ranges. delivered in ‘flyaway’ condition and production is already underway
at Airbus facilities in Spain. The remaining 40 transport aircraft will
be manufactured in India by the Indian aircraft contractor, TATA
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