The Indian Ministry of Defence has approved an indigenous aircraft procurement of 1.1 trillion Indian rupees ($13 billion).
It includes 97 LCA Tejas Mark 1A fighter jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and 156 Prachand attack helicopters for both the IAF and the Indian Army.
New Delhi has already ordered 83 Tejas Mark 1As, whose delivery is expected to start from February 2024.
The IAF has been operating two squadrons of the first version Tejas Mark1 since 2016.
Su-30MKI Upgrades
An initial upgrade of 84 Su-30MKI fighters for the IAF has also been cleared for an estimated 500 billion Indian rupees ($6 billion), according to Asian News International.
It is expected to be upgraded with indigenous radars, avionics, and subsystems, according to NDTV.
The IAF has a fleet of over 260 Su-30MKIs.
Additional Procurements
Additional approved acquisition includes anti-ship missiles, anti-tank munition, towed gun systems, and upgrades of T-90 tanks, taking the total amount to 2.23 trillion Indian rupees ($26.73 billion).
It is potentially the largest-ever defense contract for Indian manufacturers, with 98 percent of the total amount to be sourced from local contractors.
The acceptance of necessity by the Defence Acquisition Council will be followed by price negotiations with manufacturers.
Once a final price is negotiated, the final sign off will be done by the Cabinet Committee on Security, according to NDTV.
