Latest news with #EP-6
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First Post
18-05-2025
- Business
- First Post
Operation Sindoor on 'strategic pause', govt gives military power for emergency buying
India has given emergency powers to its armed forces to buy weapons worth up to ₹40,000 crore, following a strong warning to Pakistan that the current pause in Operation Sindoor is only temporary unless it stops cross-border terrorism. read more A Pakistan Army soldier stands in front of damaged building after it was hit by an Indian strike in Muzaffarabad, in PoK on May 7. Reuters With New Delhi issuing a stern warning to Islamabad that the current pause in Operation Sindoor is only temporary unless Pakistan stops supporting cross-border terrorism, the government has granted emergency procurement (EP) powers to the armed forces, allowing purchases of up to ₹40,000 crore, The Times of India reported. Officials told TOI on Saturday that the Defence Acquisitions Council, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, recently approved the sixth round of emergency purchases (EP-6) for the Army, Air Force and Navy to boost and replenish their weapons stockpiles. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The first four rounds of EP were approved during the military standoff with China in eastern Ladakh, while the fifth focused on counter-terrorism operations. Under EP-6, the armed forces can fast-track multiple contracts – each worth up to ₹300 crore – covering both capital and revenue expenditure, bypassing the usual lengthy procurement procedures. 'The contracts must be finalised within 40 days, with deliveries completed within a year. These powers will be exercised by the three Service vice chiefs,' an official said. This will allow the armed forces to quickly strengthen their stockpiles of missiles, long-range weapons, loitering and precision-guided munitions, kamikaze drones, counter-drone systems, and other arms and ammunition. There is a 15% cap on both capital and revenue procurements from the total defence budget allocated for the current financial year. 'All EP-6 purchases must be carried out with the concurrence of financial advisers, and special permission is required for imports,' the official added. 'While actual expenditure is likely to remain below the 15% ceiling, the provision gives the Services the necessary flexibility to address urgent operational gaps and replenish ammunition stocks depleted during the four days of intense hostilities from 7 to 10 May,' officials further said. For instance, the IAF used a range of advanced weapons during its precision strikes, including BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles (jointly developed with Russia), Israeli-origin Crystal Maze-2 and Rampage missiles, Spice-2000 precision-guided bombs, as well as French-origin Scalp cruise missiles and Hammer air-to-ground munitions. The IAF also deployed Israeli-made Harop and Harpy kamikaze drones, as reported earlier by TOI. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
With Operation Sindoor still on, military gets emergency purchase powers
NEW DELHI: With India making it clear that the cessation of hostilities under Operation Sindoor is only a 'strategic pause' if Pakistan does not mend its ways in fuelling cross-border terrorism , govt has granted emergency procurement (EP) powers to the armed forces with an overall outer limit of around Rs 40,000 crore. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The EP-6 approval for Army, IAF and Navy to further boost as well as replenish their arms stockpiles was granted by the Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisitions Council just a few days ago, officials told TOI on Saturday. The first four EPs were granted during the military confrontation with China in eastern Ladakh, while the fifth was for counter-terror operations. Under EP-6, the armed forces can fast-track multiple contracts, each worth Rs 300 crore, under both capital and revenue heads instead of following the normal long-winded procurement procedure. 'The contracts have to be finalised within 40 days, with deliveries to be completed in one year. The powers will be exercised by the three Service vice chiefs,' an official said. This will allow the armed forces to quickly build their arsenals of missiles and other long-range weapons, loiter and precision-guided munitions, kamikaze drones and counter-drone systems, among other weapons and ammunition. There is a 15% cap each on the total capital and revenue procurements of the overall defence outlay earmarked for the ongoing fiscal. 'All EP-6 purchases have to take place with the concurrence of the financial advisors, while special permission is needed for imports,' the official said. 'While the actual expenditure is likely to be less than the overall 15% outer limit, it gives the Services the requisite flexibility to meet urgent operational gaps and replenish their ammunition stocks depleted in the four days of intense hostilities from May 7 to 10,' he added. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now IAF jets, for instance, used BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, which are jointly produced in India with Russia, the Israeli-origin air-to-ground Crystal Maze-2 and Rampage missiles and Spice- 2000 precision-guided bombs, and French-origin Scalp cruise missiles and Hammer air-to-ground precision-guided munitions, for their precision strikes, as earlier reported by TOI. IAF also used Israeli Harop and Harpy kamikaze drones. Similarly, Army units launched loitering munitions like SkyStriker as well as fired 'smart' extended range artillery shells like Excalibur to hammer specific targets. The armed forces also used a wide array of weapons as part of the multi-layered air defence network. They included the Barak-8 medium range surface-to-air missiles, jointly developed with Israel, and the indigenous Akash missiles.
