The first Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting, chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar cleared a proposal for 814 mounted gun systems for the Army.
Request for Information (RFI) will be issued to Indian vendors within the next couple of months kicking off the tendering process. Indian private sector majors Bharat Forge, L&T and Tata have already tied up with global Original Equipment Manufacturers and are likely to participate in the tender.
Addressing the DAC, Mr. Parrikar reiterated that the priority of the government was fast and transparent acquisitions.
The Army’s Field Artillery Rationalisation Plan (FARP) formulated in 1999 envisages inducting around 3,000 guns of various types to equip its 220 artillery regiments. No new gun has been acquired since the 1980s, when 400 Bofors guns were bought from Sweden.
Another major deal cleared is for the Air Force to expand the Integrated Air Command & Control System (IACCS) for Rs.7,160 crore. The IACCS presently has 5 nodes and an additional 4 nodes will be set up to connect the Indian mainland with Island regions for seamless communication and connectivity.
As part of this, new command & control nodes will be set up and integrated with the existing ground & air sensors and air defence systems.
