Defence Ministry offers Indian industry opportunity and funds to design and develop prototype of light tank and communication equipment

This is for the first time since the launch of DAP-2020 that Indian Industry has been asked to be involved in the development of such crucial items, including communication equipment with Indian security protocols.

In 2020 September when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh released the New Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) at the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) meeting, in New Delhi.

The Defence Ministry has offered Indian private industry the opportunity to design and develop four big ticket defence projects meant for the Army and the Air Force.

The four projects—all in the Make-I category of defence items as listed in India’s Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 guidelines—are expected to spur indigenous design and development in the defence industry and give a boost to the government's ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’　(‘Self-reliant India’) initiative.

According to the Ministry’s March 3 announcement, Indian industry will be provided with financial support for the prototype development of these four projects. For decades the biggest lament from mandarins of India’s private sector defence complex has been the lack of financial support from the government for fledgling prototype projects.

The four projects which have been accorded ‘Approval In-Principle’ by the Ministry’s Collegiate Committee include the prototype design and development of a light tank for the Army and communication equipment with Indian security protocols (routers, switches, encryptors,　voice over internet protocol telephones and their requisite software), airborne electro optical pod with its ground-based system, and an airborne stand-off jammer for the Air Force.

This is for the first time since the launch of DAP-2020 that Indian Industry has been asked to be involved in the development of such crucial items, including communication equipment with Indian security protocols.

The Ministry has also, under the DAP-2020, accorded ‘Approval In-Principle’ to five projects under the industry-funded Make-II procedure of the DAP. While two of the projects are for the Army, three are for the Air Force. The projects for the Army include an integrated surveillance and targeting system for the mechanised forces and the long-pending autonomous combat vehicle. For the Air Force, the projects involve prototype development of wearable robotic equipment for aircraft maintenance and full motion simulators for the Boeing　AH-64 Apache combat helicopter　and the Boeing Heavy-Lift　Chinook helicopters .

Projects under 'Make-II' category involve prototype development of equipment/systems/platforms or their upgrades or their sub-systems/sub-assembly/assemblies/components, and will primarily aim at import substitution and finding innovative solutions. There will be no government funding in the case of these prototype development projects.

According to a Defence Ministry spokesperson, these measures under DAP 2020 are designed to not only provide a fillip to "indigenous development of projects", but also "help harness the design capabilities of Indian defence Industry and position India as a design leader in defence technologies".