The Author is Former Director General of Information Systems and A Special Forces Veteran, Indian Army

In a major push to boost India's air and maritime combat capabilities, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on February 12, 2026, approved Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for proposals worth approximately ₹3,60,000 crore (approximately $36 billion). The approval includes French Dassault Aviation's Rafale fighter jets procurement of Multi Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF), and additional P-8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft for the Indian Navy. This marks a critical step toward enhancing India's deterrence posture amid evolving regional security challenges in the Indo-Pacific and along its contested borders. The MRFA procurement of 114 Rafale fighter jets will strengthen India's long-range offensive strike capability and provide a decisive edge in both conventional and high-intensity operations. The Rafale will significantly enhance the IAF's ability to conduct air dominance missions across the full spectrum of conflict.

The MRFA procurement of 114 Rafale fighter jets will strengthen India's long-range offensive strike capability and provide a decisive edge in both conventional and high-intensity operations

Equipped with advanced avionics, precision-guided munitions, and beyond-visual-range missile systems, Rafale-class aircraft are expected to play a pivotal role in ensuring air superiority and deep strike capability. Notably, majority of the MRFA aircraft are slated to be manufactured in India, aligning with the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliance) push in defence production. Local manufacturing and technology transfer are expected to boost India's aerospace ecosystem and reduce long-term dependence on foreign suppliers.

Alongside MRFA, the DAC also cleared missiles to enhance stand-off ground attack capability with high precision and deep strike power. In addition, approval of Air-Ship Based High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (AS-HAPS) systems will enable persistent Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), electronic intelligence, and secure military communications.

Majority of the MRFA aircraft are slated to be manufactured in India, aligning with the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat push in defence production

For the Indian Navy, the DAC cleared the acquisition of additional P-8I Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft, a critical asset in India's anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and maritime domain awareness architecture. Based on the US Boeing's P-8 platform and customised for Indian requirements, the P-8I aircraft has already proved itself for tracking submarine movements in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The additional new procurement will significantly enhance the Navy's long-range maritime surveillance, maritime strike, and ASW capabilities. With increasing Chinese naval deployments in the Indian Ocean and expanding submarine activity, the P-8I fleet plays a crucial role in safeguarding sea lines of communication (SLOCs) and monitoring strategic chokepoints. The P-81's advanced sensors, sonobuoys, radar systems, and anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons make it one of the most potent maritime patrol platforms in the region.

The Navy also received AoN for a 04 MW Marine Gas Turbine-based Electric Power Generator under the Make-I category of Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020. The Indian Army received AoN for Anti-Tank Mines (Vibhav) to strengthen defensive obstacles against mechanised forces, along with overhaul programmes for Armoured Recovery Vehicles (ARVs), T-72 tanks, and BMP-II Infantry Combat Vehicles to extend service life and ensure operational readiness. The Indian Coast Guard will procure Electro-Optical/Infra-Red systems for its Dornier aircraft, improving maritime surveillance and coastal security.

The additional new procurement will significantly enhance the Navy's long-range maritime surveillance, maritime strike, and ASW capabilities

Two days earlier, on February 10, 2026, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) released the draft Defence Acquisition Procedure 2026 (DAP-2026), which is aimed at Jointness, Atmanirbharta (Self-Reliance), and Integration (JAI) of the Armed Forces, military modernisation, and faster procurement of military systems, to drive the nation's aerospace and defence ecosystem development and growth through production scaling.

A statement issued by the MoD said, "The proposed draft aims to align India's defence acquisition with the rapidly evolving geo-strategic landscape, growth of Indian economy, skilling of human capital, growth of private defence industry in the country and the technological imperatives of modern warfare."

Once approved, the draft DAP-2026 would replace the Defence Acquisition Procedure-2020 that has governed the Indian military procurements for the last over six years. The Department of Defence described the draft DAP as the cornerstone for the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (Self-Reliance) initiative in defence. The draft DAP-2026 focuses on institutionalised preference for 'Buy (Indian-IDDM)' (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) category for procurement, thereby boosting domestic manufacturing and effective reduction of imports. It will ensure categorisation and procurement strategy based on technological availability and manufacturing readiness, exclusive procedures for faster acquisition of equipment with short technological cycle, spiral designing and procurement of major platforms, exploitation of modern technology before bulk procurement, pragmatic Indigenous Content (IC) and Indigenous Design (ID) content evaluation, and utilisation of indigenous military material, among others. "The DAP would boost defence manufacturing and exports along with restriction on import to domestically non-available and critical equipment only," the MoD said.

Once approved, the draft DAP-2026 would replace the Defence Acquisition Procedure-2020 that has governed the Indian military procurements for the last over six years

Along with the draft DAP-2026, the MoD also released the Handbook on Guidelines & Annexures. The Defence Ministry sought comments and suggestions on the draft DAP-2026 from the stakeholders within the next three weeks or before March 3, 2026. While the Defence Procurement Manual (DPM) 2025 deals with maintenance and sustenance of defence equipment, platforms, and systems under the Revenue head of expenditure, the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) deals with the capital procurement of equipment, platforms, and systems under the Capital head of expenditure. The MoD said, "The DAP-2026 intends to weave the security of the nation and technological growth in a single thread and create the canvas for Viksit Bharat-2047."