The Indian Air Force is most likely to put forth three key defence projects before the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) during the upcoming DAC meet next month, to be held under the chairmanship of Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh.
The three projects incude of:
- 97 indigenously manufactured Light Combat Aircraft Tejas -MK1A
- 66 indigenous ‘Prachand‘ light combat helicopters from HAL
- 84 Sukhoi-30 fighter jets upgrade program
The procurement of 97 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas have become imperative as reportedly the Indian Air Force (IAF) is down to around 32 squadrons of fighters and this will further go down with phasing out of MiG-21s which have become obsolete.
Noteworthy, these will be manufactured by DPSU Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) and estimated to cost around Rs 67,000 crore.
The IAF is also looking forward to put the proposal for upgradation of Su-30MKI fighter jet fleet that will include completely new avionics, radars, and electronic warfare suites.
Noteworthy, the upgrade plan is likely to cost Rs 60,000 crore approximately and will touch all aspects of the fighter jet except for its airframe and engines.
Also, the Indian Air Force plans to procure around 66 ‘Prachand’ light combat helicopters (LCH).
To be noted that LCH basically is an Indian multi-role, light attack helicopter designed and manufactured by the HAL under project LCH.
These choppers are capable of offensive operations in high-altitude areas like Siachen Glacier and eastern Ladakh.
Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/
