Defence Ministry approves acquisition of Milan-2T Anti-Tank Missiles

The Defence Acquisition Council headed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has approved the acquisition of the Rs 1,200 crore Milan-2T anti-tank missiles. While the requirement was of 70,000 different types of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) and 850 different launchers, the DAC has approved the purchase of 5,000 Milan 2T anti-tank guided missiles from France.

Defence Acquisition Council

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Union Minister of Defence was constituted to ensure a fair defence procurement planning process. The Council aims to ensure expeditious procurement of the requirements of the Armed Forces in terms of capabilities sought and time frame prescribed by optimally utilizing the allocated budgetary resources.
The functions of the DAC include:

• Principle approval authority for 15 Years Long Terms Integrated Perspective Plan for Defence Forces.
• Categorization of the acquisition proposals relating to ‘Buy’, ‘Buy & Make’ and ‘Make’.
• Addressing issues relating to Single vendor clearance.
• Decision regarding ‘offset’ provisions in respect of acquisition proposals above Rs. 300 crores.
• Decisions regarding Transfer of Technology under ‘Buy & Make’ category of acquisition proposals.
• Field Trial evaluation.

Milan-2T Anti-Tank Missile

An anti-tank missile is aimed at destroying the vehicles that are heavily armoured. The features of the Milan-2T Anti-Tank Missile are:

• Milan is a portable medium-range, anti-tank missile produced by Euromissile, based in Fontenay-aux-Roses in France.
• The Milan munitions consist of the missile in a waterproof launch tube.
• While MILAN 2 has a single shaped charge warhead for use against very thick and composite armour, MILAN 2T is armed with a tandem charge for use against reactive armour.

The DAC has given approval for the procurement of Milan-2T Anti-Tank Missile to meet the urgent requirements since the indigenous anti-tank missile Nag being developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is still under development.

Month: Current Affairs - February, 2019