The Indian Army on Wednesday said it signed a contract on February 25 for the procurement of 223 Automatic Chemical Agent Detection and Alarm (ACADA) systems with Larsen and Toubro (L&T Ltd) at a cost of Rs 80.43 crore.

The Army said the deal was signed under the Buy Indian (IDDM) category.

"This will give a significant boost to the GoI’s Atamnirbharta drive since more than 80% of the components and sub-systems of the equipment will be sourced locally," the statement issued by the Ministry of Defence.

ACADA has been designed and developed by DRDO’s Defence Research and Development Establishment, Gwalior and marks a significant milestone in the nation’s indigenisation initiative in the niche CBRN domain.

ACADA System

The ACADA system is used to detect chemical warfare agents (CWA) and programmed toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) by sampling the air from the environment.

It works on the principle of Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) and contains two highly sensitive

"IMS cells for continuous detection and simultaneous monitoring of harmful/ toxic substances," the statement said.

Induction of ACADA in the field units will substantially enhance Indian Army’s defensive CBRN capability for operations, as also for peacetime, especially for responding to disaster relief situations related to industrial accidents.

DRDO Reacts

Speaking on the deal,  Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) posted on X: "Indian Army has signed contract for procurements of 223 units of Automatic Chemical Agent Detection & Alarm (ACADA) System developed by DRDE, DRDO Gwalior lab with M/s L&T Ltd (a DRDO’s TOT holder and production agency for ACADA)."

Indian Army

Reacting to the deal, the Indian Army said it remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering indigenous technologies, reducing dependency on imports, furthering #Atmanirbharta and India’s mission of achieving.

The Indian Army said that these systems, which have been indigenously developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), will significantly bolster the Army's capabilities in Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) defence, enhancing operational readiness and disaster relief response efforts.