The Defence Ministry has signed three contracts at a total cost of around Rs 5400 crore with domestic producers to bolster the defence capabilities of the country.
It is to be noted that two contracts have been signed with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Ghaziabad and one with New Space India Limited (NSIL).
The first contract has been signed with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and pertains to the procurement of Automated Air Defence Control and Reporting System Project Akashteer worth Rs 1982 crore for the Indian Army.
The second contract with BEL relates to the acquisition of Sarang Electronic Support Measure systems at an overall cost of Rs 412 crore for the Indian Navy.
Sarang is an advanced Electronic Support Measure system for helicopters of the Indian Navy. Both will empower the Air Defence units of the Indian Army to effectively operate in an integrated manner.
Substantially, the satellite will strengthen the communication capability of the Indian Army by providing mission-critical beyond-line-of-sight communication to troops and formations as well as weapon and airborne platforms.
The contract with NSIL, a central public sector under the Department of Space, Bengaluru have reference to the procurement of an advanced communication satellite, GSAT 7B which will provide high-output services to the Indian Army at an overall cost of Rs 2, 963 crore.
Meanwhile, ‘Project Akashteer’ will empower the Air Defence units of the Indian Army with an indigenous, state-of-the-art capability, to effectively operate in an integrated manner. Akashteer will enable monitoring of low-level airspace over the battle areas of the Indian Army and effectively control the Ground Based Air Defence Weapon Systems.
