10 Oct , 2024 By : Debdeep Gupta
Defence stocks including the likes of Hindustan Aeronautics Defense, Bharat Dynamics and Bharat Electronics gained up to 4 percent on October 10. The surge comes after defence deals worth Rs 80,000 crore for Predator drones and 2 nuclear submarines were approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-chained Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS).
The CCS has cleared the deal for buying 31 Predator drones from the USA. Under the deal, India will get 31 High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) UAVs, of which the Navy will get 15 SeaGuardian drones, while the Army and the Indian Air Force will get eight each of the land version – SkyGuardian.
The second major defence deal which has been cleared by the CCS is the manufacturing of two nuclear-powered attack submarines at the Ship Building Centre in Vishakhapatnam will be around Rs 45,000 crore.
The move will boost the country's naval as well as surveillance capabilities. Reportedly, the Indian Navy as part of the deal would get two nuclear-backed attack submarines, designed to significantly improve its operational capabilities in the Indian Ocean Region.
There will be reportedly major involvement of private sector firms like Larsen and Toubro (L&T) in the manufacturing of the two new nuclear submarines. The MQ-9B 'hunter-killer' drones are being procured from US defence major General Atomics under the foreign military sales route at a total cost of around $ 3.1 billion.
The deal had to be cleared before October 31 as the validity of the American proposal was till that time and now it is going to be signed in the next few days only. The proposed mega drone deal was announced during the historic State Visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi here in June 2023.
At 9:47 am, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL), Bharat Dynamics (BDL), Bharat Electronics (BEL), Taneja Aerospace and Aviation Ltd, Paras Defence and Space Technologies, High Energy Batteries, IdeaForge Technologies, Mazagon Dock, Cochin Shipyard and more were trading with gains of up to 3 per cent.
India is procuring the long-endurance ‘hunter-killer’ drones to crank up the surveillance apparatus of the armed forces, especially along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. The Sea Guardian drones are being procured for the three services as they can carry out a variety of roles including maritime surveillance, anti-submarine warfare and over-the-horizon targeting, among others.
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