The emergency route for defence procurements has once again come to the Indian Army’s rescue in its bid to buy man-portable Very Short Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) systems, as repeated attempts to acquire the critical systems have failed. Since 2020, the Army has unsuccessfully tried to close three deals for two different missile systems, constituting 88 launchers, 372 missiles and associated equipment.
A VSHORAD is the soldier’s last line of defence against enemy combat aircraft and helicopters in the multilayered air defence network, and its criticality has been reinforced in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Under emergency procurement (EP) provisions, the armed services can procure weapons systems worth upto ₹300 crore on an urgent basis without any further clearances. Deliveries should begin in six months and end within a year of the contract date. This route has been previously used four times since 2016, with the fifth now underway. “The EP has been quite helpful in getting new equipment on a fast-track basis,” a defence source observed, adding that delivery delays have been an issue as companies have not been able to meet the stringent EP timeline.
Meeting urgent needs
The EP route for procurement through the Vice Chiefs emergency financial powers was sanctioned by the Defence Ministry for the first time after the 2016 Uri terror attack. Since then, there have been four rounds of such procurement: EP-1 in 2016, EP-2 after the 2019 Balakot air strike, EP-3 in 2020 after the standoff with China began, and EP-4 in 2022 to fill “critical capability voids”. EP-5 was recently sanctioned and is focussed particularly on counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist equipment, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi said in January.
At the height of the standoff with China in eastern Ladakh in December 2020, the Army contracted 24 Igla-S VSHORAD launchers, 216 missiles and testing equipment from Russia’s Rosoboronexport, with deliveries being completed by December 2021. Under EP-4, the Army placed a ₹260 crore order for more Igla-S, consisting of 48 launchers, 100 missiles, 48 night sights, and one missile testing station, with deliveries to begin by the end of May 2024. This order was placed to Adani Defence Systems And Technologies Limited (ADSTL), which is assembling the system in India under a technology transfer initiative.
A third deal for laser beam riding man-portable VSHORADs was announced at Aero India last month by Thales UK and Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), with the “initial supply” of Starstreak high velocity missiles and launchers to be delivered this year. Defence sources confirmed that the deal, under EP-4, was for 16 launchers, 56 missiles and one simulator worth just under ₹300 crore. The overall order has been delayed, two sources independently confirmed.
The fourth EP tranche was undertaken by the Army between September 2022 and 2023, with over 70 schemes concluded worth nearly ₹11,000 crore.
The Army has also contracted Hyderabad-based Vem Technologies to refurbish 450 legacy Igla-1M missiles in a nearly ₹110 crore deal.
DRDO version in the works
During a recent media interaction, Director General of the Army Air Defence Lt. Gen. Sumer Ivan D’Cunha noted that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has carried out some tests of indigenous VSHORADs, but it will be still some time before they can release a final version. “Quantum of VSHORADs is not what it should be. Quantum is huge but we may look for some number urgently,” he said, adding that a Request For Information (RFI) for Indian industry will be released soon as part of the initiative to buy Indian products. This could include adequate numbers to look after Indian industry, he said.
A deal for over 5,000 VSHORAD missiles, 258 single launchers, and 258 multi-launchers has been held up since 2010 when a Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued. It has since seen several iterations and some dramatic turns, which also raised complaints over the acquisition process followed. The Igla-S was declared the lowest bidder in November 2018. However, the final deal never materialised and eventually it fell apart as a freeze was subsequently placed on all direct imports. A fresh tender for a part requirement is expected to be issued to the Indian industry very soon.
The VSHORAD-IR system that has been tested several times by DRDO is currently a mounted version and will be miniaturised in due course, officials said. The project got initial approval from the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) in January 2023 and once development is complete, it is eventually expected to meet the requirement of 300 launchers and 1800 missiles, including that of the Navy and Air Force.
China, Pakistan augment defences
China has significantly augmented its firepower and air defences along the Line of Actual Control since the standoff began in 2020. At the same time, Pakistan has procured the FN-16 MANPADS, which have a range of 6 km, from China’s Aerospace Long March International as per reports. In all, Pakistan has contracted around 970 FN-16 missiles in four batches over the last few years, sources said citing inputs. Close to 500 missiles contracted in two batches a couple of years back have been delivered. The remaining missiles and associated equipment from two contracts are in advanced stages of execution, sources added.
As per the 2024 U.S. Department of Defence annual report to the U.S. Congress on military and security developments involving China, the Chinese Army’s air defence units in 2023 continued to improve their tactical air defence against low and slow threats like Unmanned Aerial Systems and loitering munitions to meet evolving air defence requirements. Hybrid self-propelled air defence artillery systems, gun air defence artillery, small focused electronic warfare systems, and MANPADs form the core of China’s evolving solution to countering tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems, the report said.
Published – March 08, 2025 10:58 pm IST
