The Defence Research and Development Organisation has offered 28 of its designed and developed weapon systems to the three services for emergency procurement. This comes at a time when the indigenous weapons performed well during India’s military retaliation, Operation Sindoor, against the Pahalgam terror attack. The Defence Forces have been allowed to buy new weapons and replenish the stocks of existing weapons by the Centre under the emergency procurement powers. Under these powers, they can buy hardware up to Rs 300 crore for a single product.
“The premier defence research agency has submitted the list to the defence ministry and includes rockets, air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, laser-guided bombs, torpedoes, shoulder-fired air defence and anti-tank missiles, helicopter-launched and ground-launched Nag missiles, Rudram anti-radiation missiles, Naval anti-ship missiles and grenades,” defence officials told ANI. “The long list of weapon systems provided by the DRDO also lists the vendors who produce them and the number that the defence forces can procure in the next six months to one year,” the sources said.
The DRDO has also listed the names of the Production agencies for its various products from which the forces can source these items. For example, the Pinaka rockets can be acquired from Solar Defence and Aerodpace Limited, while Bharat Dynamics Limited is the source for multiple pieces of equipment in the list. The forces have also been offered the Man-Portable Anti-Tank Guided Missiles, Very Short-Range Air Defence System, Smart Anti-Airfield Weapons, long-range Glide Bomb, and Advanced Light-Weight Torpedo, along with ammunition for the 155 mm artillery guns.
The forces have been given the option to order from a list of 28 different pieces of equipment, including 14 for the Indian Army, 8 for the Indian Navy, and 6 for the Indian Air Force. The Indian Air Force is also acquiring the SAAW smart ammunition as part of a proposal being considered by the Defence Ministry, which is likely to come up for discussion soon.
The DRDO has been the main developer of weapons in the Indian system, and its BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, MRSAM air-edge fence missile systems, and Akash air-edge fence systems have performed very well in defeating Pakistani attacks during Op Sindoor. The DRDO contribution or the offer of weapon systems readily available for the forces to use within one year is much higher than what was offered during the conflict with China, when not many systems were ready to be offered to the forces.
