New Delhi: The defence ministry on Thursday gave the preliminary approval for capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 2.23 lakh crore for the armed forces, which includes procurement of 97 more Tejas fighters and 156 Prachand light combat helicopters as well as a major upgrade of 84 existing Sukhoi-30MKI jets.Defence minister Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisitions Council also accorded the acceptance of necessity (AoN) for the procurement of artillery towed gun systems and two types of area denial munitions for the Army as well as medium-range anti-ship missiles for frontline warships of the Navy.All these approvals are just the first step in the long-winded procurement process, which eventually will have to be cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security before the actual contracts can be inked.

“Of the 22 proposals granted AoNs amounting to Rs 2.23 lakh crore, acquisitions worth Rs 2.20 lakh crore (98% of total amount) will be sourced from domestic industries.

This will give a substantial boost to the aim of achieving the goal of ‘Aatmanirbharta’ (self-reliance),” a MoD official said.The main takeaway was the nod for the acquisition of 97 more Tejas Mark-1A fighters for around Rs 65,000 crore and 156 Prachand helicopters (90 for Army, 66 IAF) for around Rs 53,000 crore from defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL).

TOI was the first to report on November 24 that these two mega projects were on the DAC’s agenda.The AoN for the second indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC-2), which will be built at the Cochin Shipyard for around Rs 40,000 crore as a “repeat order” of the 44,000-tonne INS Vikrant or IAC-1, will be taken up at the next DAC meeting.On Friday, the DAC also cleared the upgrade of 84 of the 260 Russian-origin Sukhoi-MKI fighters in the IAF combat fleet, with indigenously-designed weapons, radars, avionics, communications and electronic warfare systems, by HAL at a cost of around Rs 65,000 crore.The 97 Tejas Mark-1A fighters will add to the 83 such jets already ordered under the Rs 46,898 crore contract inked with HAL in February 2021.

Of the first order worth Rs 8,802 crore for 40 Tejas Mark-1 jets that were to be initially completed by December 2016, HAL has delivered 32 single-seat fighters and two of the eight twin-seat trainers to the IAF so far.

HAL now has to deliver the 83 improved Tejas Mark-1A jets in the February 2024-February 2028 timeframe.The 156 Prachand helicopters, capable of offensive operations in high-altitude areas like Siachen Glacier and eastern Ladakh, will add to the 15 such choppers (10 IAF and 15 Army) already inducted under the first Rs 3,887 crore contract in March last year.The need for a mountain warfare-capable chopper like the 5.8-tonne Prachand, which is armed with 20mm turret guns, 70mm rocket systems and air-to-air missiles, was first acutely felt during the 1999 Kargil War.The DAC also accorded approval for a major amendment in the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) of 2020, under which a minimum of 50% of indigenous content in the form of material, components and software has to be ensured in all categories of procurement cases.