Aircraft will be on the agenda when the Defence Procurement Board (DPB) chaired by defence secretary Giridhar Aramane and including the vice chiefs of the army, navy and air force and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) meet on October 13

New Delhi: Aircraft will be on the agenda when the Defence Procurement Board (DPB) chaired by defence secretary Giridhar Aramane and including the vice chiefs of the army, navy and air force and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) meet on October 13. Two major deals will be discussed and hopefully will be cleared:

The upgrade of 84 Sukhoi-30 Russian fighters for the Air Force

The purchase of MRMRs or Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft for the Navy and Coast Guard. There could be nine for the Navy and six for the Coast Guard.

The IAF has about 270 Sukhoi fighters and the upgrade, with new radars and other equipment should ensure the 84 are in good shape for another dozen years. After this lot are done, more Sukhois could get upgraded in the future. Currently, the IAF has more Sukhois than any other fighter.

The MRMRs for the Navy and Coast Guard will be made in India. The C-295, being made in India by Airbus and the Tatas, will be an option. This is a particularly important requirement keeping in mind India’s long coastline and the increasing number of Chinese warships in the Indian Ocean and also, a rise in cases of terrorism and drug trafficking.

Once the DPB clears the projects, the Defence Acquisition Council, headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh and including the chief of defence staff, General Anil Chauhan and the three chiefs, as well as the defence secretary and the DRDO chief, will consider them, probably towards the end of the month.