New Delhi: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Congress MPs Mukul Wasnik and Tariq Anwar, Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Dharmendra Yadav and others leave after the all-party meeting convened by the government to discuss the ongoing West Asia crisis, in New Delhi, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary) The new “wonder weapon” is the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), armed or just for reconnaissance. It’s been used effectively in the Armenia-Azerbaijan war and then, in the fighting between Russia and Ukraine and more recently, in the 39-day conflict that ended in a ceasefire only today. Iran regularly used armed drones against American bases, the Gulf states and Israel. * Keeping in mind recent developments, the Defence Procurement Board (DPB) today cleared the acquisition of Electronic Warfare (EW) systems for the Army to detect UAVs. These will be indigenously designed, developed and manufactured keeping in mind the government's atmanirbharata or self reliance principle, and could be particularly useful with UAVs being used to ferry weapons to terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir from across the line of control. * The DPB, which is chaired by the defence secretary and includes the three vice-chiefs of staff and also, a representative from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), also cleared the acquisition of two MRSAM or Medium Range Surface to Air Missile regiments. The MRSAM, jointly developed by DRDO and an Israeli firm, can be used as air-defence against enemy aircraft, missiles and drones. The MRSAM, built by Bharat Dynamics and Bharat Electronics, has a range of over 70 km. Again, air-defence has been an important issue when Israel and the USA attacked Iran. * Also, cleared for purchase was the MPATGM or the Man Powered Anti Tank Guided Missile, developed by DRDO. It can hit targets about 2 km away, and the problem the Army had was that it was considered a little heavy, possibly about 2 kgs. But a decision has been taken to go ahead with it, and will currently, after manufacture by Bharat Dynamics, will be used by the Army's infantry regiments. The deals, cleared by the DPB will be placed before the Defence Acquisition Council, headed by defence minister Rajnath Singh, and including the three chiefs and the chief of defence staff. For the Latest news, India News and breaking stories from around the world, visit Times Now for live coverage and in-depth reporting.