During the past 3 years, 79 projects amounting to Rs.8201 Crores directly pertaining to development of new defence equipments have been undertaken by the country’s premier R&D organisation DRDO. This information was tabled in a written reply by Defence Minister of State Shripad Naik to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
The equipment and inventions include Cruise Missile, Anti-Ship Missile, Surface-to-Air Missile, Air-to-Air Missile, Extended Range Anti-Submarine Rocket, Mounted Gun System, Ammunitions, Electronic Warfare System, Radars, Torpedoes, High Endurance Autonomous Underwater Vehicle etc.
The minister’s reply said that many DRDO developed technologies such as Battle Field Surveillance Rader (BFSR), Joint Venture Protective Carbine (JVPC) Jammers, 5.56 mm Rifle, 40 mm Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBRL), Oleo Resin (OR) Grenade etc are being utilized by the State Police.
Upgrades to some of the systems have been developed by DRDO. They include:-
- Arjun Mk-1A
- Akash-NG
- Light Combat Aircraft Mk-1A
- Medium Power Radar-Extended Range
- PINAKA- Extended Range, Guided
- Electronics & Communication System: Unified Mission Computer for SU-30 MKI aircraft
- Internal EW System for MIG-29 Upgrade Aircraft
- EW systems for Naval platforms.
Some of the DRDO developed systems which are likely to be available to India’s defence personnel during 2021-23 are as follows:
Aayush Pal