NEW DELHI: The defence ministry on Thursday signed a ₹1,700-crore contract with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for a fire control system for the navy, the latest in a series of deals concluded in March ahead of the end of financial year 2022-23.
“The Lynx-U2 system is a naval gun fire control system designed and developed indigenously. It is capable of accurately tracking and engaging targets amidst sea clutter as well as air/surface targets,” the defence ministry said in a statement. It will be installed on new generation offshore patrol vessels to be built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, and Goa Shipyard Limited.
This latest order for BEL will generate an employment of 200,000 man-days over the next four years, the ministry said.
The development comes a day after the defence ministry signed three contracts worth ₹5,400 crore for an advanced communication satellite, GSAT 7B, for the army, an automated air defence control and reporting system for the army’s air defence units, and Sarang electronic support measure systems for navy helicopters.
The ministry has signed contracts worth more than ₹21,000 crore over the last four weeks for indigenous military hardware including basic trainer aircraft, cadet training ships, medium-power radars, radar warning receivers and Dornier aircraft.
India had earmarked ₹84,598 crore, 68 % of the military’s capital acquisition budget for 2022-23, for purchasing locally produced weapons and systems to boost self-reliance in the defence sector. The country has allocated 75% of the defence capital procurement budget for 2023-24 for buying military hardware from local manufacturers, a move aimed at unlocking new opportunities for achieving self-reliance targets and ramping up the country’s defence exports.
India had set aside set aside 64% of the military’s capital acquisition budget for making indigenous purchases in 2021-22, and 58% in 2020-21.
Around ₹1 lakh crore has been set aside for domestic procurement this year, compared to ₹84,598 crore, ₹70,221 crore and ₹51,000 crore in the three previous years.
Apart from creating a separate budget for buying locally made military hardware, the government has taken a raft of steps to promote self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector including increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) from 49% to 74%, and notifying hundreds of weapons and systems that cannot be imported.