The Indian Army is eyeing a more rapid procurement of weapons and equipment amid a reported “shortage” due to the “Make in India” initiative.
Last week, several defense officials revealed that the country is running out of weapons because its military can no longer import critical equipment due to program restrictions.
They further estimated that India will be left critically short of high-performance helicopters by 2026 and combat jets by 2030.
Because of that, New Delhi plans an emergency procurement to expedite local production and delivery of guns, missiles, drones, and armored vehicles.
A military official said the army could invoke emergency financial powers to purchase 300 crore Indian rupee ($38 million) in military equipment needed to deter threats from near-peer adversaries.
The weapons must be inducted within a year to meet urgent requirements.
“The process will be based on compressed timelines, wherein the procurement window will be open to Indian industry for six months, and the industry would be expected to deliver equipment within one year of signing the contract,” the Indian Army said.
“Procurement cases will be based on open tender enquiry.”
Proposals are being fielded for Guns, Missiles, Drones, Counter Drone, Loiter Munition, Communication & Optical systems, specialist Vehicles, Engineering Equipment & Alternate Energy Resources. Look-Out for RFP on https://t.co/uRkHH6DTi5 & https://t.co/k6uE7LaMMq.
— ADG PI – INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) September 18, 2022
Weapons Still in Development
India has various weapons and equipment still in the development and testing phases.
One example of weapons the country has yet to field is the Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) system.
QRSAM has just completed a series of flight trials to evaluate the system ahead of full-rate production and deployment.
New Delhi is also still in the testing stage with its vertical launch short-range surface-to-air missile equipped with an advanced radio frequency seeker.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation is also developing an unmanned ground combat vehicle based on the country’s Arjun Mk 1A main battle tank.
