Ministry of Defence signs Rs 39,125 crore contracts for radars, extended range BrahMos and MiG-29 engines
Ajay Banerjee
New Delhi, March 1
The Ministry of Defence on Friday announced signing of five contracts worth Rs 39,125 crore to procure a new set of high power radars, extended range BrahMos missiles for the Navy and engines for the MiG-29 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force.
The contracts were signed in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has been contracted for procurement of aero-engines for MiG-29 aircraft at a cost of Rs 5,249.72 crore. These aero-engines will be produced by the Koraput Division of HAL to sustain the operational capability of the MiG-29 fleet. The aero-engines will be manufactured under Transfer of Technology licence from the Russian maker.
“The programme will focus on indigenisation of several high-value critical components, which would help increase the indigenous content of future repair and overhaul tasks of RD-33 aero-engines,” the Ministry of Defence said.
India has been facing the issue of spares since the Russia-Ukraine war.
Two separate contracts have been inked with Larsen & Toubro Limited – one for the procurement of Close-in Weapon System (CIWS) and other for the procurement of High-Power Radar (HPR).
The contract for procurement of HPR has also been signed at a cost of Rs 5,700.13 crore. It will replace the existing long-range radars of lAF with modern active aperture-phased array-based radars with advanced surveillance features. It will significantly enhance the air defence capabilities of IAF with integration of sophisticated sensors capable of detection of small flying targets. It will boost the indigenous radar manufacturing technology as it would be a first-of-its-kind radar built by the private sector in India.
The contract for procurement of CIWS has been signed with Larsen & Toubro Limited at a cost of Rs 7,668.82 crore. CIWS will provide terminal air defence to select locations of the country. One of the usage of the CIWS is shooting down low-flying drones.
Two other contracts have been signed with BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited – one for the procurement of BrahMos missiles and second for the procurement of ship-borne BrahMos system capable of extended firing ranges.
The ‘ship-borne BrahMos system’ will come at a cost of Rs 988.07 crore. This system is the Indian Navy’s primary weapon for maritime strike operations-fitted onboard various frontline warships. “The system is capable of hitting land or sea targets from extended ranges with pinpoint accuracy at supersonic speeds,” The Ministry of Defence said.
The contract for BrahMos missiles comes at a cost of Rs 19,518.65 crore. These missiles would be utilised to meet combat needs and training requirements of the Indian Navy.
