India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Monday approved defence procurement proposals worth Rs790 billion ($8.78 billion) to strengthen the operational capabilities of the Army, Navy and Air Force, according to Indian media reports.

The approvals were granted during a meeting chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and form part of India’s broader drive to modernise its armed forces, India Today reported.

The DAC accorded Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for several key Army systems, including loiter munition systems for artillery regiments, low-level lightweight radars, long-range guided rocket ammunition for the Pinaka Multiple Launch Rocket System, and the Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction System Mk-II.

According to India Today, these acquisitions are expected to enhance precision strike capability, battlefield surveillance and counter-drone operations.

For the Navy, the council approved the procurement of bollard pull tugs, high-frequency software-defined radio manpacks, and the leasing of high-altitude, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft systems to improve maritime domain awareness and operational mobility.

The Air Force received clearance for systems including automatic take-off and landing recording systems, Astra Mk-II air-to-air missiles, full mission simulators for pilot training, and SPICE-1000 long-range guidance kits to boost combat readiness and strike accuracy.

Times of India reported that the Rs79,000 crore package marks one of the largest recent defence clearance decisions, covering missiles, radars, drones and advanced electronic systems across all three services.