NEW DELHI, July 4 -- India's military has been flagging three interlinked vulnerabilities for the better part of four years: exposure to small commercial drones, gaps in layered air defence, and an absence of domestically produced loitering munitions. On Thursday, New Delhi moved to address all three in a single session of the Defence Acquisition Council, granting in-principle approval to weapons systems worth roughly $5.5 billion.

The council, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, formally accorded what the ministry terms Acceptance of Necessity to a list of acquisition proposals spanning the Army, Navy, and Air Force. "The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), under the chairmanship of Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh on July 03, 202...