Rajnath approves swarm drones buy

New Delhi: The defence acquisition council (DAC) headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday gave initial approval for arms procurement proposals worth Rs 28,732 crore including autonomous surveillance and armed swarm drones for the Army.

The 'drone swarms' is a new frontier in military technology, where hundreds of small drones in a coordinated manner are programmed to take down a target. The enormous number of drones taking part in the attack makes the air defence system virtually ineffective.

Militaries around the world are looking at the use of drones after Azerbaijan used them to defeat Armenia. Drones are being used by the Houthi rebels against Saudi Arabia and by Ukranian forces against Russia.

The DAC gave approval for the purchase of 4 lakh carbines for close-quarters battle. For enhanced protection against enemy snipers along the Line of Control, and in close combat counter-terrorism operations, DAC gave initial approval to buy bulletproof jackets with Indian Standard BIS VI level of protection.

DAC also approved the Navy’s proposal to procure an upgraded 1250KW capacity marine gas turbine generator for power generation application onboard the Kolkata class of ships through Indian industry.

The DAC also approved the proposal of procurement of 14 Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) for the Coast Guard under the Buy Indian scheme.