DRDO Products worth Rs. 4.94 lakh crores have either been inducted or have received the Acceptance of Necessity from Defence Acquisition Council-DRDO Chief

By R. Anil Kumar

• Nearly Rs. 4.94 lakh crores worth of DRDO-developed products have either been inducted or have received the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) from the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC).

• The developments are now increasingly getting done much faster than earlier.

• First set of BrahMos missile systems is expected to reach Philippines by the end of March.

• BrahMos missiles export to the Philippines is the biggest ever defence export contract signed with any foreign country by India.

Bangalore, January 27. Defence Research and Development Organisation chairman, Dr Samir V Kamat has said that nearly Rs. 4.94 lakh crores worth of DRDO-developed products have either been inducted or have received the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) from the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC).

The chief of DRDO said that over 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the inducted products are in the last five to seven years.

Approximately Rs. 4.94 lakh crores worth of DRDO-developed products have either been inducted in defence or have received Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) from the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC),” Kamat said.

“The developments are now increasingly getting done much faster than earlier. My estimate is, more than 60 per cent or 70 per cent of the inducted products are in the last 5-7 years. This rate is going to increase dramatically as we go ahead,” he added.

The DRDO chief said that the first set of BrahMos missile systems is expected to reach Philippines by the end of March.

“The ground systems should be sent in the next 10 days, the missiles will hopefully go by March (to Philippines),” Kamat said.

BrahMos missiles export to the Philippines is the biggest ever defence export contract signed with any foreign country by India.

India had signed a deal with the Philippines worth USD 375 million in January 2022 for the supply of shore-based anti-ship variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.

The BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system is one of the most successful missile programmes in the world. As the world’s best and fastest precision-guided weapon, BRAHMOS has fortified India’s deterrence power in 21st century.

The BrahMos is said to be one of the most successful missileprogrammes.Acknowledged as the foremost and swiftest precision-guided weapon on a global scale, BrahMos has played a pivotal role in enhancing India’s deterrence capabilities.

Designed and developed by India-Russia JV entity BrahMos Aerospace, supersonic cruise missile BrahMos has continued to evolve as the most versatile weapon in its genre. The next generation variant of the missile has smaller, lighter and smarter dimensions designed for deployment on a wider number of modern military platforms.

The Indian Army has integrated multiple BrahMos regiments into its arsenal since 2007.

The TEJAS MK-1A is set to replace the ageing MIG series aircraft in the Indian Air Force in the near future. Additionally, plans for the TEJAS MK-2 are underway, with a target completion date of 2028.

“I would say, TEJAS MK-1A, Arjun MK-1A, QRSAM,more number of squadrons are going to be taken for Akash, several of our tactical missiles are going to get inducted soon,” Kamat said.

Additionally, a mega order for the DRDO-developed ATAGS (Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System) howitzers is expected to be finalized by the end of March this year.

The ATAGS guns developed by DRDO and produced by private sector industry players such as Bharat Forge and Tata Advanced Systems, are anticipated to be confirmed by the conclusion of this financial year (March 31, 2024), Kamat added.

“We have been in discussions with Safran for developing the engine for AMCA (Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft). But these are still under discussion. The final decision on whom to go with, whom to partner with for making the AMCA engine has not yet been made. This is under discussion,” DRDO Chairman said.