India clears Rs 52,000 crore defence procurement proposals for Armed Forces

India's Defence Acquisition Council has cleared a wide range of procurement proposals worth about Rs 52,000 crore for the Armed Forces. The approvals cover systems for air defence, anti-drone warfare, naval surveillance and unmanned operations, according to an official statement cited in the supplied material. The meeting took place on Friday, after a gap of three months, and marks an early but important step in the country's capital acquisition process.

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Among the systems approved are the anti-unmanned aerial vehicle electronic warfare system known as Akash Tarang, the Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile system, and the Very Short Range Air Defence System. The council also cleared a jet-based kamikaze drone system for the Army, a naval shipborne unmanned aerial system for the Navy, and a fixed-wing based high-altitude pseudo satellite for the Air Force. In addition, proposals for man-portable anti-tank guided missile systems and active protection systems for tanks were approved for the Army.

The Ministry of Defence said Akash Tarang will provide anti-UAV protection to Army formations. It said the MPATGM systems are intended to counter mechanised threats, while the MRSAM is designed to provide medium-range air defence against stand-off aerial threats. The VSHORADS, using multi-spectral sensing, is meant to improve counter-measure resilience and effectiveness, and the active protection system is expected to improve tank survivability.

The ministry also said the jet-based kamikaze drones would offer greater lethality and survivability while remaining cost-effective. The approvals matter because the Defence Acquisition Council is the key body that grants Acceptance of Necessity for large capital procurements. That means the latest decision opens the way for the next stage of the procurement process, but it does not guarantee final contracts.

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In practical terms, the package points to continued investment in air defence, drone warfare and battlefield protection at a time when militaries are increasingly focused on unmanned systems and counter-unmanned systems. The council's latest meeting also included clearance for multi-influence ground mines, the naval shipborne unmanned aerial system and a land-based testing facility for electric propulsion systems. According to the supplied material, the mines are intended to deny freedom of manoeuvre to an adversary, while the naval unmanned system is expected to improve situational awareness for the Navy.

The testing facility is meant to meet requirements linked to electric propulsion system trials. The meeting came three months after the council's previous session in March, when it cleared a proposal to procure five additional S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile systems from Russia. That earlier decision shows the council has been moving through a series of major capability upgrades across air defence and related domains.

What remains unclear from the available material is the timeline for final orders, the exact split of spending across the different systems, and whether all proposals will proceed beyond the acceptance stage. The next developments to watch are the formal procurement steps and any further details on how the services plan to deploy the newly approved capabilities.

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