The Army has significantly bolstered its fire power along the frontier with China by deploying a range of rockets and artillery weapons and plans to procure an array of additional systems, including 100 K9 Vajra howitzers and UAVs, to augment combat prowess.
The negotiations on cost and techno-commercial details relating to India's proposed procurement of 26 Rafale-M fighter jets and three Scorpene submarines from France are not yet concluded, sources said on Tuesday.
'He consulted widely, both formally and informally and acted quickly on pragmatic suggestions.' 'To his credit, Parrikar took the initiative to reduce excessive litigation against armed forces veterans and widow over small sums of pensionary and disability benefits,' points out says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
Gen Rawat will be able to serve as CDS for a period of up to three years after the government amended the rules extending the age of retirement to 65 years.
The procurement is expected to address the shortage of small arms for the armed forces.
The Centre also overruled financial advisers' recommendations for making payments through an escrow account, an important safeguard in the absence of a sovereign or bank guarantee, The Hindu has reported.
Besides clearing the proposal to buy assault rifles, the other significant acquisitions approved by the DAC include procurement of smart anti-airfield weapon (SAAW) systems for the navy and the Indian Air Force at an approximate cost of Rs 970, the officials said.
The defence ministry on Thursday accorded its approval to procure 30 MQ-9B Predator drones from the US to crank up the surveillance apparatus of the armed forces, especially along the frontier with China, people familiar with the development said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Abu Dhabi on July 15.
The proposals will help in the modernisation of the armed forces.
The total cost for procurement of 41,000 LMGs will be Rs 3,000 crore while over 3.5 lakh Close Quarter Battle Carbines will be bought at a cost of Rs 4,607 crore respectively, defence ministry officials said.
The procurement will come at a cost of Rs 38,900 crore.
Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya will not have any air defence systems on board to protect itself from aerial attacks while coming home from Russia and the Navy has sent warships to escort it safely.
As the DefenceExpo gets underway in Goa, Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd) says the proposed Defence Procurement Procedure 2016 should ensure that the Indian defence industry is on the path to design, develop and make in India.
The defence ministry has started fresh cost negotiations with the US firm Sikorsky for purchase of 16 multi-role naval helicopters, Lok Sabha was told on Friday.
The cost of the project will be Rs 21,738 crore, the sources said.
The approval to the proposals come amid increasing hostilities by Pakistan along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir as well as China's aggressive posturing in several sectors along the nearly 4,000-km-long Sino-India border.
The long-pending proposals were cleared at a meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the defence ministry's highest decision making body on procurement.
The Indian Navy plans to acquire a sizeable number of unmanned aerial and underwater platforms in the next few years to significantly ramp up its surveillance capability in the backdrop of China's increasing forays into the Indian Ocean region, people familiar with the development said on Sunday.
In an off-shoot of VVIP helicopter deal scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against a Brigadier attached to Army Aviation for allegedly fudging trial flight records of the copters.
India's first indigenous aircraft carrier will be commissioned next year and its combat capability, reach and versatility will add formidable capabilities in the country's defence, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in Kochi on Friday.
The Vice Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Harjit Singh Arora took part in one such operation along with HAL test pilot, Wing Commander Subash P John (retd) recently by taking-off from high altitude location to a forward area for a simulated attack on a high altitude target, the Bengaluru-headquartered company said in a statement.
Another proposal of the army and the IAF for the procurement of 55 low level light weight radars was also cleared by the DAC for Rs 419 crore.
Unlike conventional subs that must surface every 48 to 72 hours, these subs can stay submerged for up to 14 days.
Calling for a rethink of its submarine building programme, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said India should look for greater numbers than the existing plan of constructing 24 such vessels.
The Army is looking at procuring the LUHs and LCHs to replace its ageing fleets of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters.
The defence ministry has scrapped the Rs 2,700 crore deal for acquiring two minesweeper vehicles from a South Korean firm after it was found that there were violations of tender conditions as agents were in the play.
It is when one looks away from the immediate song and dance and at the granular detail of what has been going on since 2014 that one realises what the quality and competence of thinking and execution is in this project we call New India, asserts Aakar Patel.
Russia has made a new offer on the delivery of Sukhoi T-50 (PAK FA) fighter jets to India under the joint FGFA initiative.
The utility helicopters will be used in attack missions as well as for search and rescue and surveillance operations.
The defence ministry on Friday scrapped a scam-tainted tender worth over Rs 6,000 crore to procure 197 light helicopters from foreign vendors and decided to allow indigenous players to manufacture these choppers for the armed forces.
United States manufacturer Sikorsky has bagged a Rs 6,000-crore contract for supplying 16 multi-role helicopters to the Indian Navy.
United States manufacturer Sikorsky has bagged a Rs 6,000-crore contract for supplying 16 multi-role helicopters to the Indian Navy.
The biggest procurement green-lighted was the Rs 217 billion purchase of 111 naval utility helicopters.
This would provide a major boost to the indigenous design and construction capability of submarines in India.
The $10.5 billion arms and equipment deal helped to arrest the recent drift in the 'special and privileged' strategic partnership, observes Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
She would also have a separate meeting with the defence secretary every day.
This is the fourth of the six submarines the Indian Navy is to induct under the Kalvari-class submarine Project-75.
The new policy would also allow many of the stuck programmes, like the heavy weight torpedos for the six Scorpene submarines, to move ahead with clarity.
The 'request for proposal' for the indigenous construction of the six submarines will be issued soon, they added.
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