An ALH test-firing a HELINA missile. (Photo: DRDO)
New Delhi: The government has approved the “acceptance of necessity” for three capital acquisition proposals – two for the Indian Army and one for the Indian Navy, on Tuesday, the defence ministry said in a media release. In a meeting of defence ministry’s Defence Acquisition Council under the chairmanship of the defence minister, Rajnath Singh, the passed AoN for three proposals, amounting to ₹4,276 crore.
All the three proposals are under the “Buy (Indian-IDDM)” category. This category refers to the procurement of products from an Indian vendor that have been indigenously designed, developed, and manufactured.
The two Army acquisition proposals that got the AoN nod are the HELINA anti-tank guided missile system and the VSHORAD (infrared homing) missile system.
The HELINA anti-tank guided missiles, launchers, and associated support equipment, which will be integrated to the advanced light helicopter (ALH). This missile is an essential part of weaponization of the ALH for countering enemy threats by strengthening the offensive capability of the Army.
The VSHORAD (infrared homing) missile system, which is currently under design and development by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO). The defence ministry, in the release, said that in view of the recent tensions along the line of actual control (LAC) a need was felt to focus on effective air-defence (AD) weapon systems that are man portable and can be deployed quickly in rugged terrain and maritime domain. The ministry said the procurement of VSHORAD, “as a robust and quickly deployable system”, will strengthen the AD capabilities.
For the Indian Navy, the DAC approved the AoN for the acquisition of the BrahMos missile launcher and fire-control system (FCS) for the Shivalik class of ships and the next-generation missile vessels (NGMVs). The defence ministry said: “With their induction, these ships would have enhanced capability of carrying out maritime strike operations, interdicting and destroying enemy’s warships and merchant vessels.”
