In a statement, the Defence Ministr said ‘Akash Tarang’ will provide effective anti-UAV protection to the Army Formations. (File photo)The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Friday cleared a range of acquisition proposals for the Armed Forces worth approximately Rs 52,000 crore. This includes Anti-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Electronic Warfare System named ‘Akash Tarang’, Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) Weapon System, Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS), Jet-Based Kamikaze Drone System for the Army, Naval Shipborne Unmanned Aerial System (NSUAS) for the Navy and Fixed-Wing Based High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (FW-HAPS) for the Indian Air Force, among others.The DAC is the key defence body that grants the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) on all big-ticket capital procurements. Grant of AoNs is the first step in the defence procurement process. However, obtaining an AoN does not always lead to a final order.The Friday meeting of the DAC took place after three months. The last DAC meeting took place in March this year, when a significant proposal to procure five additional S-400 Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile Systems from Russia was cleared.In a statement on Friday, the Ministry of Defence said that proposals to procure Man Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missile (MPATGM) Systems and Active Protection Systems for Tanks have also been cleared for the Army.Must Read | From ground to the skies: How drones are reshaping operations along borders‘Akash Tarang’, it said, will provide effective anti-UAV protection to the Army Formations.The MPATGM will help counter the adversary’s mechanised threats, the MRSAM system provides medium-range air defence against a variety of stand-off aerial threats, and the V-SHORADS with multi-spectral sensing will enhance counter-measure resilience and effectiveness of the Army, the statement noted.Additionally, the Active Protection System would improve the defence mechanism of tanks and enhance their survivability, and the Jet-Based Kamikaze Drones would provide better Electronic Warfare capability with greater lethality and survivability while also being cost-effective.Story continues below this adThe DAC also granted Acceptance of Necessity for the procurement of Multi Influence Ground Mine (MIGM), Naval Shipborne Unmanned Aerial System (NSUAS) and the setting up of Land Based Testing Facility (LBTF) for Electric Propulsion System.The MIGM will deny freedom of manoeuvre to the adversary. The NSUAS, equipped with advanced sensors, will enhance situational awareness of the Indian Navy, while the LBTF will meet the testing requirements for Motors and associated Propulsion Systems of the Indian Naval assets.For the Indian Air Force, procurement of Fixed-Wing Based High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (FW-HAPS) was approved among other proposals. The FW-HAPS will carry out persistent Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance, telecommunication and remote sensing for the IAF, the statement noted.Amrita Nayak Dutta writes on defence and national security as part of the national bureau of The Indian Express. In the past, Amrita has extensively reported on the media industry and broadcasting matters, urban affairs, bureaucracy and government policies. In the last 14 years of her career, she has worked in newspapers as well as in the online media space and is well versed with the functioning of both newsrooms. Amrita has worked in the northeast, Mumbai and Delhi. She has travelled extensively across the country, including in far-flung border areas, to bring detailed reports from the ground and has written investigative reports on media and defence. She has been working for The Indian Express since January 2023. ... Read More Tags:defence procurementIndian Armed Forces