NEW DELHI, Dec 31:
India firmed up defence procurement worth over Rs 3.50 lakh crore in 2023 as the lingering border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh as well as the crises and conflicts around the world kept the military focused on ways to enhance the country’s overall combat prowess to firmly deal with any security challenges.
India also went on an overdrive in expanding its military engagement with like-minded countries in its neighbourhood and beyond in the face of China’s relentless attempts to become a regional hegemon and establish its primacy in South Asia.
The Indian troops guarding the nearly 3,500 km Line of Actual Control (LAC) maintained an assertive approach as the eastern Ladakh border spilled into the fourth year even as both sides held several rounds of high-level military and diplomatic talks to resolve it.
The face-off between the two of the planet’s biggest military forces mainly continued in Demchok and Depsang regions though both sides completed disengagement in several other friction points.
In line with a growing realisation about the need to boost the national military power, the defence ministry accorded approval to a number of big-ticket acquisition projects including procurement of 97 Tejas light combat aircraft, 156 Prachand combat helicopters and upgrading 84 Su-30 fighter jets.
In 2023, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved in its meetings proposals worth a total of over Rs 3.50 lakh crore to enhance the operational preparedness of the armed forces, the defence ministry said in a year-end review.
In June, the DAC, the defence ministry’s highest decision-making body on procurement, approved acquisition of 31 MQ-9B high altitude long endurance remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) for the three services from the US through foreign military sale (FMS) route.
In another significant decision, the DAC granted approval for procurement of 26 Rafale marine aircraft along with associated equipment, weapons, simulator and spares for the Indian Navy from French defence major Dassault Aviation under the framework of an inter-governmental agreement.
The Indian Air Force formally inducted the first C-295 medium tactical transport aircraft, days after it was handed over to it in the southern Spanish city of Seville.
The IAF received the first of the 56 C295 transport aircraft two years after India sealed a Rs 21,935-crore deal with Airbus Defence and Space to procure the jets to replace its ageing Avro–748 fleet.
Under the deal, Airbus will deliver the first 16 aircraft in ‘fly-away’ condition from its final assembly line in Seville by 2025 and the subsequent 40 aircraft will be manufactured and assembled by Tata Advanced Systems (TASL) in India as part of an industrial partnership between the two companies.
The defence ministry also maintained its focus on making India a hub for defence manufacturing in the year.
In June, American defence major GE Aerospace inked an agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to co-produce F-414 fighter jet engines in India, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the US.
According to provisions of the deal, GE Aerospace’s F414 engines will be co-produced in India to power Tejas light combat aircraft Mk2.
The agreement was seen as a transformational move in further expanding the India-US global strategic partnership.
In reflection of growing military ties between the two nations, two B-1B Lancer supersonic heavy bomber jets of the US Air Force joined the American exhibits at the Aero India at the Yelahanka air base in February.
The bomber carries the largest conventional payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the US Air Force and is considered the backbone of America’s long-range bomber force, American officials said. (PTI)
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