Article Posted on : - Sep 30, 2015

NEW DELHI (PTI): Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will lay the foundation stone of BEL's Defence Systems Integration Complex in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday.

Coming up at Palasamudram, Gorantala Mandal in Anantapuramu district of Andhra Pradesh, it will be the largest such facility in the country once it is commissioned, covering an area of over 900 acres.

BEL has been continuously investing in modernisation and creation of special infrastructure to cater for emerging defence business opportunities.

S K Sharma, Chairman and Managing Director, BEL, said that BEL is also strengthening its infrastructure in areas like Night Vision technologies and elements of Multifunction Radars.

Various new Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) programmes are proposed to be taken up by BEL, namely Quick Reaction SAM, Long Range SAM, Medium Range SAM among others in addition to Network Centric Communication and Electronic Warfare systems, a statement by the Defence Ministry said.

He added that to achieve self-reliance in defence, there is need for a very strong indigenous R&D.

In this direction, BEL has not only maintained a consistent policy of R&D investments but also has launched collaborative R&D with private small and medium enterprise firms in the country, the statement said.

On an average, 80 per cent of BEL's Sales turnover is from indigenous R&D every year.

The Palasamudram facility will enable BEL to expand its Missile systems business and will carry out manufacturing and integration for the ongoing and upcoming projects.

It will have state-of-the-art infrastructure such as Assembly Hangars and Hard Stands for Radars and Weapon integration, RF radiation sources for target simulation, Automatic Test Equipment, Clean Rooms for electronic assembly, Non-Explosive & Explosive Integration Buildings, Missile Storage buildings, Environmental Test Chambers, Fire Stations, Solar Power Plant, Estate and Admin buildings.

The facility is about 80 km from the Bengaluru International Airport on NH7. The proposed Complex will be a world-class facility with Automated Guided Vehicles and Industrial Robots for material movement and handling.

The facility will be built in stages as the various projects mature and the estimated investment will be about Rs 500 crore over a period of 3 to 4 years.

BEL also plans to expand this facility for the creation of a Military Industrial Complex (MIC) to set up the necessary ecosystem for manufacture of electronic components and equipment for various upcoming Defence projects in collaboration with SMEs as part of the Government's 'Make in India' initiative.