Government approves procurement of fighter jets from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

Nine procurement bids totaling around 45,000 crore have been approved by the Indian defence ministry, including ones to buy 12 Su-30 MKI fighter jets made by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). According to defence sources, the Rs 11,000 crore initiative will fund the aircraft as well as accompanying ground systems. 

“The aircraft would include more than 60 per cent indigenous content as per the requirement. These would be the most modern Su-30 MKI aircraft of the Indian Air Force equipped with multiple Indian weapons and sensors", officials said.

The proposals also include procuring Dhruvastra air-to-surface missiles, and an upgrade of Dornier aircraft.

The approval to the procurement proposals under the framework of the 'Make in India' initiative came amid the lingering border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh. Given that technical issues with the aircraft were reported on a number of occasions earlier this year, the Indian Air Force's (IAF) proposal to upgrade the avionics of the Dornier fleet to increase its accuracy and reliability was approved.

"The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for nine capital acquisition proposals of approx. ₹45,000 crore," the defence ministry said in a statement.