4 major defence deals inked by India in 2021

New Delhi, Dec 12: In a big boost to Athmanirbhar Bharat, India signed several significant defence deals with the United States of America (USA) and Russia to boost its defence sector.

To realise the dream of self-reliance in defence sector, India has inked several major defence deals with Russia, the United States of America (USA), Israel and other countries. The Narendra Modi government at the centre has always pushed for the modernisation of the Indian military. Let us take a look at the major defence deals in 2021.

India-Russia ink deal for AK-203 assault rifles

India and Russia have inked a deal for the procurement of AK-203 assault rifles. This would be a big boost to self-reliance in defence.

This endeavour reflects the increasing paradigm shift in defence acquisition from buy globally to Make in India.

The project will provide business opportunities to various MSMEs and other defence industries for supply of raw material and components, which will lead to generation of new employment opportunities. The project marks a significant stride towards making UP a key contributor in the ascendent defence manufacturing prowess of India.

The 7.62 X 39mm caliber AK-203 Rifles will replace in-service INSAS Rifle inducted over three decades back. AK-203 Assault Rifles, with an effective range of 300 meters, are light weight, robust and easy to use Modern Assault Rifles with proven technology that will enhance the combat potential of soldiers to adequately meet present and envisaged operational challenges. They will enhance the operational effectiveness of the Indian Army in Counter Insurgency/Counter Terrorism operations.

India-US Predator drones deal

In a big step towards strengthening military ties with the US, the Indian Defence Ministry has approved the acquisition of 30 Predator drones for the three defence forces.

As per the deal, all three services are likely to get 10 drones each for the three services (Army, Navy and IAF)-from the US worth $3 billion (approximately Rs 22,000 crore).

The armed drone will further sharpen India's offensive capabilities as till date Indian military only operates drones for surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

The remotely piloted drones, manufactured by US defence major General Atomics, are capable of remaining airborne for around 35 hours and can be deployed on a range of missions including surveillance, reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and destroying enemy targets.

The medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) Predator-B drone is the first hunter-killer unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for long-endurance and high-altitude surveillance.

India, Russia sign agreements for arms production, cooperation

India inked a pact on amending the agreement on cooperation in the field of manufacturing of the Kalashnikov series of small arms that was originally sealed in February 2019. Another agreement was signed on the protocol of the 20th IRIGC-M&MTC.

Next-generation drones, robotics

In reflection of their growing defence ties, India and Israel sealed an agreement to jointly develop next-generation technologies and products such as drones, robotics, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, officials said.

The Bilateral Innovation Agreement (BIA) was firmed up between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Israel's Directorate of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D).

"Under the agreement, startups and industry of both countries will work together to bring out next-generation technologies and products in the areas such as drones, robotics, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, photonics, biosensing, brain-machine interface, energy storage, wearable devices, natural language processing, etc," the ministry said in a statement.

India is a major buyer of Israel's military hardware. Israel has been supplying various weapon systems, missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles to India over the last few years but the transactions have largely remained behind the curtains.