In biggest-ever loiter munition system deal in Indian military history,defence ministry inks Rs 1,577-cr contract for Army with TASL, NIBE
NEW DELHI: In the biggest-ever one-time purchase order for drones in the Indian military’s history, the defence ministry on Friday signed a contract with two Indian companies — Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Pune-based NIBE Private Ltd — for procurement of loiter munition systems (also called suicide or kamikaze drones), along with munitions and other accessories, at a cost of Rs 1,577 crore for the Indian Army.With increased use of drones in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia and Iran-US conflicts, and learning lessons from its clash with Pakistan last year in May, India is arming three wings of its military, especially the Army, with advanced and sophisticated drones to be combat-ready and has the technology edge over its enemy.
“Defence ministry ordered 84 sets of loitering munition system along with 840 loiter munitions and accessories under the fast-track procedure (FTP) with the delivery of these systems to be done within a period of 12 months from the contract. These systems will have a range of up to 100km,” a defence source told TOI. “As the contract has been bifurcated, TASL as L1 vendor will provide 54 sets of munition systems with 540 loitering munitions (64%) to the Army, NIBE as L2 vendor will send 30 sets with 300 munitions (36%) to the force,” the source said.The loiter munition system is a critical equipment developed to enhance the capability of the artillery regiments, thereby strengthening the overall operational effectiveness of the Army, the ministry said. The contract was inked in the presence of defence secretary and DRDO chairperson Rajesh Kumar Singh and senior officials of TASL and NIBE in Delhi.Speaking exclusively to TOI after the contract, Sukaran Singh, CEO & MD, Tata Advanced Systems Ltd, “This is first single largest loitering munition contract ordered so far by any service. This is also the first drone contract given under the ‘fast-track procedure’. In India, sophisticated drone technology is normally imported and then mass-produced here.Problem with that is that you can’t make changes in such systems based on imported technology without taking permission from foreign OEM. Whereas, TASL has designed, developed and manufactured this advanced loitering munition system within the Indian ecosystem.” He further said, “From battery, this product required shifting to internal combustion (IC) engine technology as this munition system required much larger warhead, longer endurance, longer range and is autonomous.” Pointing out that TASL is also separately developing 400-km-range systems, Singh said “this system has already gone through the Army’s rigorous tests on high-altitude areas (like Siachen) and passed those tests (with flying colours).”Being procured under the ‘Buy (Indian)’ category, the acquisition will bolster the manufacturing capabilities of the Indian industry. The procurement marks a pivotal step towards modernising and empowering Indian defence industries, which will be a proud flag-bearer of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the ministry’s statement said.Balakrishnan Swamy, CTO & group strategy head of NIBE, told TOI, “The signing of the Vayuastra contract is an important milestone for NIBE. Securing an approximately Rs 580 crore contract reinforces our growing capabilities in indigenous defence manufacturing and precision-strike systems. We remain committed to developing and delivering advanced solutions that meet the evolving requirements of the Indian armed forces and contribute to the govt’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.”
