The Indian Army is going to place orders worth around Rs 15,000 crore for indigenous weapon systems including Akash missiles and ALH Dhruv helicopters.

The Defence Acquisition Council, led by defence minister Rajnath Singh, is expected to make orders for two regiments of Akash missiles for the army's air defence and 25 ALH helicopters for the army's aviation wing, defence sources told India Today.

The two projects will boost the capability of the Indian Army to defend the boundaries of the nation, they said.

Speaking about the Akash-S missiles to be acquired by the force, sources said they are a new variant of the Akash missile system with a new indigenous seeker which improves accuracy and helps in taking down enemy aircraft and cruise missiles at distances up to 25-30 km.

The missiles are capable of performing in extremely cold weather conditions in Ladakh and meet all the requirements of the Indian Army in mountainous and other regions along India's boundaries with China and Pakistan.

The missile system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation is already in the Army's service. Upgraded versions of it will be inducted into the services in the coming days.

The DRDO recently tested the Akash-New Generation variant of the missile system. It is to be used for longer range intersection of enemy targets and has the capability to operate at very high-altitude locations along the northern borders.

Image source: ANI