TSAMTO, February 4. On February 2, the Ministry of Defense of India published an updated request for proposals (RFP) for the purchase of towed anti-aircraft artillery installations for the country's Armed Forces.
As reported by Janes.com, the request provides for the purchase of 220 SAU and 141576 units of ammunition in the purchase category Buy & Make (Indian). The previous (second) request was issued on October 14, 2021.
According to the new request, the first 25 installations and 44,440 programmable ammunition will be supplied by the selected developer. The remaining SAU and ammunition will be produced under license in India.
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At the end of December 2017, the Indian Armed Forces began implementing a program for the acquisition of anti-aircraft artillery systems designed to replace the outdated Swedish L/70 and Soviet ZU-23-2B. The cost of the program was estimated at $1.5 billion.
A tender was announced in the Buy & Make (Indian) procurement category with a limited number of applicants, in which only Indian companies could participate. Moreover, as it was stated, the national company that won the tender will implement the project together with the foreign developer chosen by it.
Bharat Forge Limited, Punj Lloyd, Tata Advanced Systems, Tata Power SED, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Defense, state-owned Bharat Electronics Limited and Ordnance Factory Board were to participate in the tender. As the Indian Defense Ministry stressed at the time, this is the first air defense program to be implemented by national companies in the country.
As part of the program announced in 2017, the Indian Armed Forces planned to purchase 244 anti-aircraft installations, 228 fire detection and control radars and 204 thousand programmable ammunition. The first 64 installations, 8 fire control radars and 2 detection radars were to be supplied by the selected developer. The remaining 180 SAU and 218 fire detection and control radars were planned to be produced under license in India. All deliveries must be completed within 5 years after signing the contract.
ZAU batteries should be formed in accordance with the requirements of the command of the Armed Forces and include four anti-aircraft installations, two fire control radars, a detection radar, a control center, four electron-optical fire control systems, communication systems and a simulator.
The units will perform short-range air defense tasks and ensure the defeat of fighters, helicopters, UAVs and cruise missiles at low altitudes. The required firing range of the ZU is 3.5 km, the rate of fire is 200 rounds/min. The calibre of the installations has not been determined. The units were planned to be integrated into a single air defense system.