by Ajai Shukla
Business Standard, 2nd March 24
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in New Delhi on Friday signed five major capital acquisition contracts worth Rs 39,125 crore.
One contract was with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for procurement of aero-engines for MiG-29 aircraft. Two contracts were with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for procurement of close-in weapon systems (CIWS) and high-power radars (HPR) and the other two were with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL) for procurement of BrahMos missiles and of ship-borne BrahMos systems for the navy.
Portraying these purchases as triumphs of aatmanirbharta (self-sufficiency), the MoD said “the deals will further strengthen indigenous capabilities, save foreign exchange and reduce dependency on foreign ‘original equipment manufacturers’ (OEMs) in future.”
The contract for RD-33 aero engines for MiG-29 aircraft was signed with HAL at a cost of Rs 5,249 crore. The aero engines will be produced by the Koraput Division of HAL. They are expected to help the Indian Air Force (IAF) by maintaining the operational capability of the MiG-29 fleet for its residual service life.
The aero-engines will be manufactured under Transfer of Technology (TOT) license from the Russian OEM. The programme will indigenise several high value, critical components of the RD-33 aero-engines, which would increase the indigenous content of future repair and overhaul (ROH) tasks.
The contract for procurement of CIWS was signed with L&T at a cost of Rs 7,669 crore. The CIWS will provide terminal air defence to select locations of the country.
The project will boost the participation of Indian aerospace and defence industries, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The project will generate direct and indirect employment for 2,400 persons each year, for a period of five years.
The contract for procurement of HPR has also been signed with L&T at a cost of Rs 5,700 crore. It will replace the IAF’s existing long-range radars with modern “active aperture phased array” based HPR with advanced surveillance features that will significantly enhance the terrestrial air defence capabilities of IAF.
HPR is a static sensor for long range aerial surveillance. Equipped with Next-Gen features and capable of remote operations, the HPR will enable IAF to monitor special zones of interest, designating and tracking adversaries with optimal accuracy.
The project is turnkey in nature and is to be executed across multiple locations.
This will boost indigenous radar manufacturing technology by being the first such radar built by the private sector. It will provide direct and indirect employment to some 1,000 people per year over a period of five years.
The contract for BrahMos missiles has been signed with BrahMos Aerospace for Rs 19,519 crore. These missiles would meet combat, outfit and training requirements of Indian Navy.
The project is likely to generate employment of nine lakh man-days in the BrahMos joint venture and 135 lakh man-days in ancillary industries, including MSMEs.
The contract for buying ship-borne BrahMos systems has also been signed with BrahMos Aerospace for Rs 988 crore. The BrahMos is the navy's primary weapon for maritime strike operations from frontline warships, striking land or sea targets from extended ranges, with pinpoint accuracy, at supersonic speeds.
The project is likely to generate employment of around 60,000 man-days over a period of 7-8 years.
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