The Indian Army has signed a contract for the procurement of 223 Automatic Chemical Agent Detection and Alarm (ACADA) systems with L&T Ltd at a cost of Rs 80.43 crore, under the "Buy Indian" category, according to a Defence Ministry statement issued on Wednesday.

This will give a significant boost to the government's Atamnirbharta drive since more than 80 per cent of the components and sub-systems of the equipment will be sourced locally, the statement said.

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

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

In the Indian defence sector, CBRN refers to a domain focused on protecting against threats from weapons or agents that utilise these chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear substances, and the necessary defensive measures to counter them. It essentially encompasses the development and deployment of detection, protection, and decontamination systems to mitigate such threats.

India considers the potential threat of CBRN attacks from state adversaries and non-state actors, making it a crucial area of focus within the military.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) plays a key role in developing CBRN defence technologies, including detection equipment, protective gear, and decontamination systems.

The Indian armed forces also conduct extensive training programs to equip personnel with the necessary skills to respond to CBRN incidents.