MoD signs contracts worth ₹1,982 cr to upgrade Army counterterror ops gear

The Ministry of Defence has placed the orders under an emergency-purchase procedure for future counterterrorism operations

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is buying domestically produced goods worth billions of rupees for the Indian Army’s counterterrorism operations in the future.

 

Around 13 contracts -- together worth ₹1,981.90 crore -- have been finalised against a sanctioned outlay of ₹2,000 crore for the Army, under the emergency-procurement mechanism, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

 

“The acquisitions were completed within compressed timelines to ensure rapid capability augmentation,” the statement said, without providing details about the expected delivery.

 

It is also unclear if the purchase is linked to the replenishment of hardware used during Operation Sindoor on May 7, when India struck Pakistan after the Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22, which India said, had “cross-border linkages”. The fighting lasted until May 10.

 

Although deliveries of defence goods in India typically take many years, the emergency- procurement route usually takes only one year to be completed, according to military sources. They said most orders for this batch were placed in the past 30 days. A rule of such "emergency purchases" is that all equipment must have been credibly tested in the past. 

 

The Indian military used a combination of short-and-long-range weapons and air defence systems, foreign and indigenously built, during Operation Sindoor. The newly ordered integrated drone detection and interdiction systems include low-level lightweight radars; very short-range air defence systems (launchers and missiles); remotely piloted aerial vehicles; loitering munitions, including vertical take-off and landing systems; different kinds of drones; bullet-proof vests; ballistic helmets; quick-reaction fighting vehicles -- heavy and medium; and night sights for rifles (aiming devices that are visible in low light).

 

This purchase will strengthen the Army’s operational readiness -- situational awareness, lethality, mobility and the protection of troops deployed in counterterrorism environments – and provide it with modern, mission-critical and “completely indigenous systems” to meet emerging security challenges, according to the statement.

 

Urgent capability gaps can be bridged and the timely induction of vital operational equipment is ensured through emergency procurement, it said.