Cabinet clears Rs 8,000cr missile purchase for armed forces

Proposals worth over Rs 8,000 crore for procuring around 10,000 'Invar' missiles from Russia for the Army's T-90 tanks and over 200 air-launched versions of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles for the IAF were cleared on Thursday by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).

The decision for purchasing these missiles for the two services was taken at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) held under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, sources told PTI in New Delhi.

The IAF proposal worth over Rs 6,000 crore to buy BrahMos missiles for the IAF involves sanctioning of funds for the integration and testing of the BrahMos missile on Russian-origin Su-30MKI of the IAF, they said.

As per plans, the first test of the air-launched version of the supersonic cruise missile, developed jointly by India and Russia, is to be conducted by December-end. Two Su-30MKI of the IAF would also be modified by the HAL at its Nashik facility where they will also be integrated with the aerial launcher developed by the BrahMos, they said.

The BrahMos missiles integrated on the Su-30s will help the IAF achieve the capability to deliver a deadly blow to enemy formations from stand-off ranges of around 300 km without getting close to them.

Under the proposal to procure Invar missiles for the T-90 tank fleet of the Army, 10,000 Invar missiles would be brought from Russian manufacturers and there will be an agreement for license-producing 15,000 missiles by the Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) under Transfer of Technology (ToT), they said.

In a letter to the Prime Minister in March, former Army Chief Gen VK Singh had pointed out that only 3-4 days of tank ammunition was left with some of the units while highlighting the shortages faced by his force. Invar is a weapon fired from the gun barrel of T-90, over 1,600 of which would be inducted into the Armed Forces in the next few years.

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