The Indian Army is set to procure 223 Automatic Chemical Agent Detection and Alarm (ACADA) systems at a cost of ₹80.43 crore.
The contract for the procurement was signed on Tuesday with L&T Ltd under the Buy Indian (IDDM) category.
The ACADA system is used to detect chemical warfare agents and programmed toxic industrial chemicals by sampling the air from the surrounding environment.
The system works on the principle of Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) and contains two highly sensitive IMS cells for continuous detection and simultaneous monitoring of harmful or toxic substances.
The induction of ACADA systems in the field units will significantly boost the Indian Army’s CBRN (Chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) defense capability for operations. These will also be helpful in peacetime, especially when responding to disaster relief situations related to industrial accidents.
According to a defence ministry release, the contract is expected to give a significant boost to the government of India's Atamnirbharta drive as more than 80 per cent of the components and sub-systems of the equipment will be sourced locally.
ACADA has been designed and developed by DRDO’s Defence Research and Development Establishment, Gwalior.
The ministry said the development of the system marks a significant milestone in the nation’s indigenisation initiative in the niche CBRN domain.