India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) on Friday granted in-principle approval to military procurement proposals worth Rs 52,000 crore ($6.3 billion), the defence ministry announced. The package includes the Akash Tarang anti-drone electronic warfare system, man-portable anti-tank guided missiles, medium-range surface-to-air missiles, very-short-range air defence systems, active protection suites for tanks and jet-powered kamikaze drones for the army. The navy is to receive multi-influence ground mines, shipborne unmanned aerial systems and a land-based testing facility for electric propulsion, while the air force will acquire fixed-wing high-altitude pseudo satellites for persistent surveillance. The approvals mark the first administrative step in a procurement cycle that Indian officials say is designed to close capability gaps exposed during last year’s four-day border clash with Pakistan and to monitor Chinese naval activity in the Indian Ocean.

On the same day, India and Japan cleared the final obstacles for joint production of Japan’s UNICORN integrated naval antenna mast, a stealth system that consolidates communications, navigation and electronic warfare antennas into a single enclosed structure. The agreement, reached during Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s visit to New Delhi, is the first major defence technology co-development project between the two countries and will be executed by Bharat Electronics Limited. Japanese officials, speaking after the summit, described the partnership as a response to the “weaponisation of the economy and non-market policies.” Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun reacted by stating that bilateral cooperation “should not target any third party or harm the interests of any third party, still less be used as an excuse to patch up exclusive small groupings and stoke division and confrontation.”

Viewed from New Delhi, the Japan outreach forms part of a broader effort to diversify defence suppliers away from Russia and to build a network of like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific. Indian foreign ministry officials separately confirmed they are closely monitoring the recent visit of Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tareq Rahman to China, where discussions included a proposed economic corridor through Myanmar and the possible purchase of J-10C fighter jets. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India “closely observes all developments in neighbouring countries and takes necessary steps at the appropriate time,” without commenting on whether such initiatives pose a security risk.

The DAC approvals do not yet specify delivery timelines or the split between imports and domestic production, though the defence ministry stressed the role of indigenous design in systems such as the MPATGM missile. India’s current defence budget stands at $85 billion, and earlier this year officials cleared a separate $39 billion tranche that included Rafale jets from France. The procurement process now moves to tendering and contract negotiations, while the India-Japan partnership is set to expand further during the “Year of Shared Horizons” in 2027, which will feature joint cultural and sporting events alongside deeper military-industrial collaboration.