DAC clears ₹52,000 crore in defence package covering counterdrone warfare, naval mines, stratospheric surveillance

New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved procurement proposals worth approximately ₹52,000 crore for the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force, on Thursday. The procurement proposals cover a wide array of systems from counterdrone electronic warfare and man-portable anti-tank missiles to naval mines, shipborne drones, and a stratospheric pseudo-satellite.

The meeting, chaired by the defence minister, Rajnath Singh, granted acceptance of necessity (AoN) – an in-principle administrative approval that initiates the formal procurement process – to systems that address capability gaps sharpened by recent conflicts and the changing character of warfare, particularly the growing threat posed by unmanned aerial systems.

Army: Layered air defence and anti-armour punch

The Indian Army received clearances for six systems, the most significant cluster of which addresses the drone threat – now a central preoccupation of ground force planners worldwide following the wars in Ukraine, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Gaza.

The anti-UAV electronic warfare system designated Akash Tarang will provide dedicated counter-drone protection to Army formations. The name draws on the Akash surface-to-air missile family developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), though the Akash Tarang is a distinct electronic warfare platform designed to detect, track, and neutralize hostile unmanned aerial vehicles through signal disruption and jamming rather than kinetic intercept.

The system addresses a threat that has become impossible to ignore the fact that cheap commercial and military drones have reshaped battlefield dynamics, and the Army, deployed in large numbers along the line of actual control (LAC) with China and the line of control (LoC) with Pakistan, needs robust organic counter-UAV capability at the formation level.

Man-portable anti-tank guided missiles (MPATGMs) were also cleared, giving infantry units an organic, shoulder-fired anti-armour capability that does not depend on vehicle-mounted systems. The MPATGM programme has a long history in India – DRDO has been developing an indigenous variant for years – and the AoN will determine whether the procurement proceeds through a domestic or global route. At a time when China continues to modernize and expand its armoured forces, the ability of Indian infantry to independently engage tanks in mountain and high-altitude terrain is operationally significant.

The council further approved the medium-range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM) weapon system for the Army, extending its ability to engage standoff aerial threats – including aircraft, helicopters, and cruise missiles – at ranges beyond what shorter-range systems can cover. The MRSAM is a jointly developed system produced by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries, already in service with the Air Force and Navy; Army induction will create inter-service commonality and simplify logistics.

Two additional air defence systems round out the anti-air layer. The very short-range air defence system (VShoRADS), equipped with multi-spectral sensing to counter electronic countermeasures, will fill the innermost layer of protection for troops and assets in the field. VShoRADS procurement has been in the pipeline for several years, with global vendors including MBDA, Thales, and Rosoboronexport having been evaluated; the AoN will advance that process toward a final decision.

Active protection systems for tanks – which intercept incoming anti-tank rounds and missiles before they strike the vehicle – were also cleared, addressing a survivability concern that has become acute after footage from Ukraine showed modern tanks being destroyed with relative ease. The Army’s T-72 and T-90 fleets lack active protection on most vehicles. Now, the approval opens the path toward retrofitting or new procurement.

Finally, jet-based kamikaze drone systems – loitering munitions that fly to a target area and then dive onto their objective – received AoN. These offer a cost-effective means of precision strike, electronic warfare suppression, and attrition of high-value targets. India has already acquired Israeli Harop loitering munitions for the IAF and is developing domestic variants; the Army’s clearance signals a broader push to integrate such systems across services.

Navy: Mines, drones, and electric propulsion

Three proposals were cleared for the Inian Navy. The multi-influence ground mine (MIGM) is a sophisticated naval mine that responds to multiple signatures – acoustic, magnetic, and pressure – making it harder to sweep and more effective at denying an adversary freedom of manoeuvre in contested waters.

Mine warfare has received renewed attention globally as a relatively low-cost means of sea denial, and the country’s ability to lay defensive minefields in the Indian Ocean approaches has strategic implications.

The naval shipborne unmanned aerial system (NSUAS) will extend the Navy’s over-the-horizon reconnaissance capability from surface vessels. Ship-launched drones equipped with advanced sensors provide maritime patrol coverage at distances impractical for crewed helicopters on extended sorties – critical for tracking submarine contacts, monitoring surface traffic, and providing targeting data in a vast maritime operating environment.

A land-based testing facility for electric propulsion systems was also approved. Electric propulsion has become central to next-generation naval architecture – it offers quieter operation (particularly valuable for submarines and anti-submarine warfare vessels), greater fuel efficiency, and more flexible power distribution. The facility will support testing of motors and propulsion components for future Indian naval platforms, indicating that electric drive is a serious direction for the Navy’s shipbuilding roadmap.

Air Force: Eyes in the stratosphere

The Indian Air Force’s most distinctive clearance is for the fixed-wing high-altitude pseudo-satellite (FW-HAPS) – an aircraft or unmanned platform that operates in the stratosphere, typically between 18km and 25km altitude, at the boundary of conventional aviation and low-Earth orbit. Operating above weather systems and most air traffic, HAPS platforms can maintain persistent station over a wide area for days or weeks, carrying intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) sensors, communications relay payloads, and remote sensing instruments.

No HAPS system is currently in service with any of the country’s services. The technology remains an emerging area globally, with programmes underway in the United Kingdom (Airbus Zephyr), the United States, and China. For India, a stratospheric ISR platform would provide coverage of disputed border areas, maritime zones, and potential conflict theatres with a persistence that neither satellites nor conventional aircraft can match at comparable cost. The platform’s altitude also makes it extremely difficult to intercept with most existing air-defence systems.

The release notes additional IAF proposals without detailing them publicly – a common practice when systems are sensitive or when negotiations are at a preliminary stage.

Scale of the push

Friday’s AoN round follows the ₹6.73 lakh crore in approvals cleared across 55 proposals in the current financial year through March, itself a record. The pace of DAC activity reflects both a sustained government push to recapitalize the armed forces and lessons absorbed from recent conflicts that have underscored the importance of drones, electronic warfare, layered air defence, and precision strike – precisely the capability clusters addressed in the latest approvals.

The AoN is the first step in a multi-stage procurement process. Subsequent stages include issuance of requests for proposal, technical and commercial evaluation, field trials, and contract negotiation – a process that, for complex systems, can take several years.