Article Posted on : - Jan 06, 2025

NEW DELHI (PTI): Several Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) systems have either been completed or are in the "final stages" of user evaluation or development trials, the Defence Ministry said on Friday.

During an event held at the DRDO Bhawan in New Delhi, Defence Research and Development Organisation's Chairman Samir V Kamat outlined its multiple deliverables in the last year.

He also paid floral tributes to former President and the 'Missile Man' of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, during the event.

Many important DRDO documents were released by the Chairman on the occasion, including "a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on Product Development, a compilation of various SoPs & Guidelines related to DRDO Personnel", the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The DRDO Chairman said that several systems have been handed over and Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) accorded for value of Rs 1.10 lakh crore in 2024, according to the statement.

"These include Air Defence Tactical Control Radar (ADTCR), Air Defence Fire Control Radar (ADFCR), Medium Range Anti-ship Missile (MRAshM), Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile System (LR-LACM), SIGINT and COMJAM Aircraft (SCA), Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft (MRMR) for Indian Navy and Multi-Mission Maritime Aircraft (MMMA) for the Indian Coast Guard," the statement read.

Other systems include "Joint Venture Protective Carbine (JVPC), Area Denial Munition Type-2 & Type -3 for 'Pinaka' Rocket System, 155 mm nubless projectile (Bourrelet), Indigenous EW suite Yodha and Anidra for Su-30MKI, Software Defined Radio – Tactical, Electro Optical Fire Control system and CBRN Water Purification System Mk-II," it added.

"Several DRDO systems have either completed or are in the final stages of user evaluation or development trials," the statement said without elaborating.

Kamat expressed happiness that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has sanctioned two flagship programmes namely Full Scale Engineering Development (FSED) of Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and Setting up of a Missile Test Range at Nagayalanka, Andhra Pradesh.

He also mentioned about some of the infrastructure and test facilities established by DRDO, namely the Defence Technology & Test Centre (DTTC) as a part of the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC) in Lucknow; and one-of-its-kind Land-Based Submarine Battery Test Facility at NSTL, Visakhapatnam.

He hoped these would play a key role in accelerating development activities within the DRDO as well as for allied Indian industries.

The DRDO Chairman also highlighted the initiatives by the organisation for enabling industry and engaging academia in 2024, and said, "So far, 1,950 Transfer of Technologies on DRDO-developed systems have been handed over to the Indian Industries", of which 256 Licensing Agreements for Transfer of Technology (LAToTs) were signed with Indian Industries in 2024.

He also informed that over 19 development cum production partners/ production agencies were chosen last year for 'Mission Mode' projects.

He added that its test facilities have been opened to the industries for utilisation and "more than 18,000 tests have been carried out for private industries/ DPSUs in the past three years, with over 5,000 tests in 2024 itself".

He said, "As on date, 80 projects are ongoing, with nine projects awarded to industries, MSMEs, start-ups in 2024," adding that 29 project approvals are also in the pipeline and should get sanctioned soon.

A green propulsion system developed under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme was successfully demonstrated in orbit functionality on a payload launched by the PSLV C-58 mission, the Chairman said.

An AI-based tool 'Divya Drishti' that integrates face recognition with immutable physiological parameters such as gait and skeleton has also been developed, the statement said.

The DRDO Chairman mentioned that the organisation had been granted "more than 201 patents, and it had filed more than 226 patents in 2024."