The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) cleared defence procurements valued at INR1.1 trillion (US$11.6 billion) for the Indian military on 7 September 2026. According to the ministry, 98% of this equipment will be manufactured by Indian industry.
A variety of projects received their acceptance of necessity, which is an in-principle administrative approval needed to proceed with Indian military acquisition proposals.
Beginning with the Indian Army, it will acquire additional Dhruv utility helicopters. However, the exact number to be acquired has not been disclosed.
It will also acquire chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) reconnaissance vehicles, high-mobility vehicles (HMV), self-propelled mechanical minelayers, trawl tanks and Sarvatra bridge systems.
The CBRN reconnaissance vehicles detect, identify, monitor and mark areas contaminated with CBRN agents. The army’s capability to provide fast and responsive minelaying in difficult terrains will also be enhanced with more minelayers.
In April 2023, the Indian Army had issued requests for information for 1,500 6×6 general-service HMVs and 650 6×6 HMVs with material handling cranes, totalling 2,150 vehicles. The induction of these HMVs will enhance the army’s mobility and logistic support over challenging terrain.
The additional trawl tanks will enhance the army’s capability to breach minefields containing antitank mines. Their mine trawl assemblies are fitted with proximity magnetic fuses. Earlier, in April 2026, the MoD signed contracts worth INR9.75 billion with Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Electro Pneumatics and Hydraulics (India) for such T-72 and T-90 trawl assemblies.
The bridge-laying systems provide a crossing capability to fighting formations during operations. The multi-span Sarvatra bridging system is a combat assault bridging solution for mechanised forces, allowing them to negotiate wet and dry obstacles up to 75m wide in steps of 15m. The bridge can be deployed within 100 minutes. It is produced by BEML and mounted on a BEML Tatra 8×8 HMV.
Moving on, the Indian Navy will acquire Arudhra radars, plus a proposal for the design, development and subsequent procurement of marine gas turbines has been approved. The indigenous programme for the latter is intended to reduce India’s dependence on imported propulsion systems for future warships.
The Arudhra, meanwhile, is a medium-power radar with a detection range of 400km from Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL). The 4D surveillance radar is equipped with active-aperture phased-array technologies. It will replace existing air route surveillance radars at several naval air stations. The Indian Air Force (IAF) previously placed Arudhra radar orders worth INR28 billion in March 2023.
The IAF’s proposal to acquire ground-based multipurpose jammers has also been approved, in addition to installation of a Defence Forces Secure Access Card system. The latter will replace existing paper-based identity card/passes/permits with an interoperable radio frequency identification-based smart card system.
by Atul Chandra
