India approves purchase of defence equipment worth $5.4bn

NEW DELHI: India’s Defence Acquisition Council on Friday approved nine proposals to buy defence equipment worth a combined 450 billion rupees ($5.41 billion) from domestic vendors, a government statement said.

The Defence Acquisition Council, the top government body for capital acquisition approvals for the Indian military, approved procurement of survey vessels for the navy, plus 12 Su-30 aircraft and Dhruvastra short-range air-to-surface missile for the air force. The council also approved the purchase of light armoured multipurpose vehicles, an integrated surveillance and targeting system (ISAT-S) and high-mobility gun-towing vehicles.