The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for three capital acquisition proposals, amounting to Rs 4,276 crore. The decision was taken in a meeting today with other members including the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The DAC accords the AoN to two proposals of the Indian Army and one of the Indian Navy which are under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category.
The DAC accorded approval for the procurement of HELINA (Helicopter based NAG) Anti-Tank Guided Missiles, launchers and associated support equipment which will be integrated into the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). The HELINA will add offensive firepower to ALH.
The DAC also accorded AoN for procurement of VSHORAD (IR Homing) missile system under design and development by DRDO.
In view of the recent developments along the Northern borders, there is a need to focus on effective Air Defence (AD) weapon systems which are man portable and can be deployed quickly in rugged terrain and maritime domain. Procurement of VSHORAD, as a robust and quickly deployable system, will strengthen the Air Defence capabilities.
Further, the DAC granted approval for the procurement of Brahmos Launcher and Fire Control System (FCS) for the Shivalik class of ships & Next Generation Missile Vessels (NGMVs) for Indian Navy.