Defence minister Rajnath Singh will chair an important Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting . It’s a big meeting as about two-dozen items of the army, navy and air force are on the agenda. The Council, including the chief of defence staff, General Anil Chauhan and the three chiefs, will look at a number of high-tech weapons.
They include the acquisition of:
* High Endurance Autonomous Underwater Vessels for the Navy. These will be unmanned and will have the capability to detect underwater mines. They can also be involved in surveillance, and if they have sonar, it is even possible for them to look for submarines.
* The Navy also has a requirement for medium range maritime aircraft. The Navy does have the American P8Is, but they are primarily for anti-submarine warfare. These aircraft can also be used for surveillance, particularly along the coastline and in the Andaman and Lakshadweep areas.
* The Navy is looking for a Multipurpose vessel, which can be used to ferry loads of different kinds. It can be a general-purpose ship that can carry different things from ammunition to other equipment.
* On the agenda is an air-launched anti-ship missile. With a good range, this can be particularly effective against enemy shipping. Anti-ship missiles are sub-sonic at least and hard to counter and therefore, effective.
*There is also a discussion on Shtil air-defence missiles, the Navy has already placed on some of its ships for over a decade. They began coming from Russia in the early 2000s.
* The Indian Air Force is looking for ARMs or anti-radiation missiles. These are particularly potent against radars and missile batteries which usually have two radars.
* An old requirement of the IAF – low level transportable radars – will also be discussed by the DAC.
