Defence Acquisition Council’s Plans

Q Why is it in News ?

Multi billion deals for armed drones from the USA and advanced submarines under Project-75I are to be taken by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC).

Defence Acquisition Council

• The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) is the highest decision-making body in the Defence Ministry for deciding on new policies and capital acquisitions for the three services (Army, Navy and Air Force) and the Indian Coast Guard.
• The Minister of Defence is the Chairman of the Council.
• It was formed, after the Group of Ministers recommendations on 'Reforming the National Security System', in 2001, post Kargil War (1999).

Q What is this India - USA Drone Deals?

• India has been looking to procure 30 armed drones, 10 for each service, from the USA but the process has been repeatedly delayed over the last couple of years.
  • The USA has given in principle approval for the sale of these armed drones to India during the India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue.
• While the Navy has a pressing requirement for the High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) drones, there have been questions on their utility for the Army and Air Force, given the high cost of the platform.
  • Since the stand-off with China in Eastern Ladakh in May 2020, the need for long endurance drones to maintain continuous surveillance of the border has been acutely felt.
• The Navy has already inducted two MQ-9B Sea Guardian unarmed drones procured from the USA.

Q What is Project 75 I? 

• Project-75I:
  • The Project 75I-class submarine is a follow-on of the Project 75 Kalvari-class submarine for the Indian Navy.
  • The project is being processed through the Strategic Partnership (SP) model of the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP).
    • The strategic partnership model seeks to identify a few Indian private companies as Strategic Partners who would initially tie up with a few shortlisted foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to manufacture big-ticket military platforms.
    • It aims to promote the role of Indian industry in defence manufacturing and build a domestic defence industrial ecosystem.
  • This project is part of the 30 year Plan for indigenous submarine construction and it got its approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security in 1999.
    • The idea behind this was to help in streamlining the submarine acquisition process and creating two submarine production lines where the plan was to construct six submarines on each.