Missile Systems And UAVs In DRDO’s Tech Priority Areas

The Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) released a list of 75 technology priorities on Tuesday. The list includes missile systems, aero structures, armored and combat vehicles, autonomous systems, electronic warfare, guidance and navigation, surveillance and tracking, guided artillery, and multi-barrel rockets.

“The list made by the DRDO is further broken down into 403 technological categories,” the defense ministry said in a statement. These categories cover 1,295 present and future technology development tasks. The list was released at the DRDO’s “Anusandhaan Chintan Shivir,” which was held in the country’s capital to promote defense research and development in business and universities.

Over the past 4–5 years, India has taken a number of steps to improve its ability to defend itself. Among these steps are a series of gradual bans on imports, the creation of a separate fund for buying military equipment made in the country, an increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) from 49% to 74%, and making it easier to do business.

At the event, the DRDO Technology Foresight 2023, which is a list of all the ways that technology is being developed, was made public. “The list of activities identifies future technology areas that are needed to build defense systems and do research and development for defense to make the country safer,” the statement said.

The other areas of focus are hypersonic technologies, cyber, information, and communication security, directed energy, electro optics, diesel engines, electronic devices, firefighting, hydro structures, mines and mine detection, parachute technology, propulsion technologies, and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The statement said that revealing the technology priority areas will give a big boost to the defense manufacturing sector by pushing the industry to make defense technologies in India so that India can move toward self-reliance.

Samir V. Kamat, who is the head of the DRDO, said that business, academia, and the DRDO should work together to take technologies from a low level to a high level so that they can be used for mass production.

India has used trade bans in two ways to encourage the production of goods made in India. One way is to ban the import of vehicles like fighter planes, warships, helicopters, and artillery guns. The other way is to ban the import of parts, spares, and subsystems.

As part of the first, India has published four lists that ban the import of 411 different types of weapons and platforms. These include light tanks, naval utility helicopters, artillery guns, missiles, destroyers, ship-borne cruise missiles, light combat aircraft, light transport aircraft, long-range land attack cruise missiles, basic trainer aircraft, and airborne early warning and control systems. In the next 5–6 years, these tools should be made by people from that country.

As part of the other plan, India has put a phased ban on importing 4,666 items, such as replacement units, modules, spares, and components. So far, 2,736 of these things have been made in India, which is part of a new push for independence. The rest will be made in India according to the schedule between December 2023 and December 2029.

These things are used in a wide range of military platforms, like fighter planes, helicopters, trainer planes, warships, tanks, infantry combat vehicles, high-mobility trucks, defense equipment, and different kinds of ammunition.