The Ministry of Defence on Monday okayed a new long-range, 300-plus km missile for the Sukhoi 30-MKI fighter jets. It also cleared a secure communication system for the IAF’s fleet of jets, transport planes and helicopters.The ministry also approved the purchase of additional helicopters for the Army, in addition to specialised vehicles designed to operate in nuclear or biological warfare contaminated areas.The decisions were taken by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.The DAC accorded the Acceptance of Necessity — in-principle administrative approval — to various acquisition proposals at an estimated cost of about Rs 1.10 lakh crore, the ministry said in a statement.“For the IAF, approval was granted to various proposals to enhance the war-fighting capabilities of fighter jets, transport aircraft and helicopters,” it added.Sources said the first phase of the upgrade involved modifying the Sukhoi jets to integrate them with Russian ‘RVV-BD’ air-to-air missiles, which could strike targets up to 300 km away at speeds exceeding ‘5 Mach’.This integration significantly enhances the jet’s potency, as it carries the 300-plus km range Brahmos missile for ground strikes and the ‘RVV-BD’ missile for neutralising enemy aircraft and long-range UAVs.The IAF has 260-plus Sukhoi jets. These played a key role during Operation Sindoor against Pakistan.The move comes a week ahead of the arrival of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the BRICS leaders’ summit in New Delhi.The second part of the IAF upgrade involves adding next-generation communication equipment called the Software Defined Radio (SDR). In modern combat, the SDR serves as the primary backbone for communication, electronic warfare and intelligence gathering across multi-domain operations. It enables transmission of high-bandwidth telemetry, video feeds from UAVs, and battlefield awareness updates in real time. All this is done by changing radio frequencies to bypass enemy jamming attempts. It can also scan radio frequency to detect, identify and geolocate enemy communications.For the Army, the DAC approved the procurement of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) vehicles for reconnaissance; high mobility vehicles (HMVs); and advanced light helicopters, among others.The CBRN vehicles will be capable of detecting, identifying, monitoring and marking areas contaminated with CBRN agents. The HMVs will enhance operational capabilities, logistic support and mobility in challenging terrains.For the Navy, the DAC approved the procurement of Arudhra Radars, as well as the design, development and subsequent procurement of marine gas turbines (MGTs). Arudhra Radar will replace the air surveillance radars at naval air stations, while the MGT, a warship propulsion system, will reduce dependency on foreign vendors.The DAC also accorded its approval for procuring a ground-based multi-purpose jammer that will provide effective jamming against radars of adversaries.The ministry will change access systems for military areas. A new Defence Forces Secure Access Card system will replace the existing paper-based identity cards with a radio frequency identification-based smart card system.