Mounted Gun System For Indian Army

NEW DELHI: The Indian Army will get the 155mm/52 caliber mounted gun system as its acquisition has been cleared for 15,750 crore, an official said.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) also cleared the revised payment schedule of IACCS (integrated air command and control system) meant for integrating all ground and air sensors of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

No final decision, however, was taken on the joint bid by Tata Sons and European manufacturer Airbus to manufacture 56 transport aircraft to replace the Avro fleet of the IAF and the proposal to get 106 more Swiss Pilatus basic trainer aircraft for the IAF.

"Further information was sought on both," the official said.

The decisions were taken at the DAC meeting chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. It was the first DAC meeting chaired by Parrikar and lasted for over two hours.

The official said that 814 gun systems will be procured for the army under the "Buy and Make (India)" category.

He said that 100 of the 814 gun systems will be purchased "off-the-shelf" and the rest would be manufactured in India.

"There will be a request for the proposal (for the mounted guns)," the official said.

The Indian Army has not acquired any new artillery gun for over 25 years. Officials said the revised payment schedule of the IACCS will be "milestone based" compared to the earlier schedule which was based on the percentage of work completed. The total cost of the project is 7,160 crore.

Officials said the IACCS permits conduct of operations from one central place, facilitating real-time transportation of images, data and voice from satellites, aircraft and ground stations.

Officials said the DAC also discussed the government's "Make in India" policy which seeks to boost indigenisation.

They said the government wants to accelerate the indigenisation process and the effort is to make the process more attractive for those who want to invest.

The officials said it was also decided that the DAC meetings can be held more than once a month and "even with less items on the agenda".

Parrikar stressed that the government's policy will be for "fast and transparent acquisition".

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