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| Military Communications (File Photo) |
Vivek Raghuvanshi
NEW DELHI — India's ruling National Democratic Alliance government will award the first-ever "Make in India" category defense project for a tactical communication system (TCS) for the Army early next year, according to a senior Ministry of Defence (MoD) official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Under the program, two domestic development agency (DA) consortiums will be awarded contracts to build one TCS prototype each at a cost of $150 million in 18 months. The government will provide 80 percent of the funding for the prototype developments.
India has shortlisted state-owned Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), and private-sector firm Larsen & Toubro is set to team with Tata Power SED and HCL Technologies to build a TCS prototype.
Once the two prototypes are handed over to the Indian Army, they will undergo technical evaluation, be tested on the ground and then shortlisted for production, said a senior Army official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The service plans to induct seven TCS systems for plains and desert areas at a cost of $4 billion in the next 10 years.
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