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Addressing a seminar here on Future Anti-Tank
Guided Missiles (ATGMs), organised jointly by
the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and
Directorate of Mechanised Forces, he said that
precision and lethality were the keys in modern
warfare, and that the Indian forces need the missile
capability in various requirements.
Minister for State for Defence MM Pallam Raju,
said that India had emerged as a favoured destination
for major foreign companies for collaboration
projects in defence, particularly as India had
become one of the largest importers of military
hardware to replace its inventory of old systems
and weapons. Indian companies “should be encouraged
to contribute to minimize the import factor” through
transfer of technology or indigenous development.
The minister also emphasized the importance of
R&D, both in the public and private domains.
Mr Raju observed: As technology now leapfrogged
within short spans, “the gestation periods ranging
from 10-15 years are history and we have to keep
abreast with the cutting edge technology in all
spheres.
“This period has to be abridged with the process
of focused interaction between the Army, DRDO
(Defence Research and Development Organisation)
as well as public and private industry.”
About the ATGMs, Gen V K Singh said India needed
to indigenously develop a family of ATGMs that
can be launched from a variety of platforms ranging
from the soldier’s shoulder to a jeep to a helicopter.”
He supported increasing participation of the
Indian private industry in building India’s defence
industrial base.
Speaking for the industry, Rahul Chaudhry, Chief
Executive Officer, Tata Power, stated,“CII’s representation
across large, medium and small companies actively
looks forward to participate in the defence production.
Therefore the process should be further streamlined
and more opportunities need to be opened up to
the industry.”
Lt Gen Dalip Bhardwaj, Director General Mechanised
Forces, said that precision, lethality and standoff
launch capability of a missile and its fire and
forget capability create a challenging task for
R&D organisations and industry to integrate the
technology with a product.
“We need missiles which can fire, observe, update
and identify primary and secondary targets,” he
observed. He explained that deployment in different
terrains, minimized cost, reduced inventory and
degree of standardization of components are some
parameters which need to be looked into.
Mr Satish K Kaura, Co-Chairman, CII Defence Council
& Chairman, Samtel Group, called for faster operationalisation
of an SME technology development fund. India needs
a clear roadmap for progressive indigenization,
he said, recommending structural changes in the
Ministry of Defence (MoD) to meaningfully include
the private sector in the defence industrial base.
The seminar was based on the premise that technology
is advancing to an unprecedented pace and is likely
to have major impact in future warfare. Nations
that can exploit emerging technologies and synergize
the same with future generation weapon systems
will have a decisive edge in the battlefield.
And that anti-tank weapon systems constitute
the cutting edge in defeating an adversary’s mechanized
forces.
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