Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday gave the final approval for two deals worth over Rs 1,714 crores for procurement of 131 Barak missiles for the Navy and 240 KAB-1500 Precision Guided Munitions (PGM) for the IAF. While the PGMs to be fitted in frontline fighter jet SU-30 will cost about Rs 1,254 crores, the Barak missile contract is Rs 460crores. These missiles will be fitted on all the main warships of the Navy.
Explaining the need for the minister’s clearance for the PGMs, officials said here this missile is a variant of the KAB PGMs the IAF has in service and employed by SU-30 fighter jets. It is a regular procurement through the revenue expenditure. Due to the value of the contract, the approval of Defence Ministry was required, they said.
These precision guided bombs will be procured from Rosoboronexport of Russia and the induction of these bombs will address the deficiency of Precision Guided Munitions in the IAF arsenal, besides enhancing the offensive capabilities of the IAF, officials said.
The second proposal was the final contract for 131 Barak Surface to Air Missiles (SAM). last April, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by then Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had given the nod for procurement under “Buy Global” category of procurement procedure under optional clause from Rafael Advance Defence Systems ltd. of Israel at a cost of Rs 460 crore.
These missiles are surface to air missiles designed to be used as a ship-borne anti-missile defence system against anti-ship missiles, officials said. The procurement is being made as part of the government’s efforts to bolster operational capability of the armed forces considering the evolving security situation in the region, the Ministry said in a statement.