India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

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csaurabh
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by csaurabh »

There are 10-15 companies like SLTL and their modus operandi are all exactly the same. They import the laser machine as a kit from China and assemble it, sell it for some % profit.. They do paint their logo on the outside though so often you can see the same Chinese model being sold under 10 different names. Some of them are also capable to assemble Western kits in addition to Chinese but that's as far as it goes.

I'm not suggesting DRDO should develop lasers for the commercial sector but the thing is that you don't go directly to a 100 kW DEW laser. You make prototypes like 100W, 1 kW, 2 kW etc. and these prototypes can easily be commercialized. The fact that nothing of this sort has ever emerged makes me doubt if LASTEC has developed anything at all and they are perhaps not too different from the assembly wale baniye.
Karan M
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Karan M »

csaurabh wrote:There are 10-15 companies like SLTL and their modus operandi are all exactly the same. They import the laser machine as a kit from China and assemble it, sell it for some % profit.. They do paint their logo on the outside though so often you can see the same Chinese model being sold under 10 different names. Some of them are also capable to assemble Western kits in addition to Chinese but that's as far as it goes.

I'm not suggesting DRDO should develop lasers for the commercial sector but the thing is that you don't go directly to a 100 kW DEW laser. You make prototypes like 100W, 1 kW, 2 kW etc. and these prototypes can easily be commercialized. The fact that nothing of this sort has ever emerged makes me doubt if LASTEC has developed anything at all and they are perhaps not too different from the assembly wale baniye.
You have already been provided information that CSIR has already been working in this space and has started recently. DRDO has made several prototypes for DEW with limited funding, you can dig up the details yourself. One contemplates a more advanced program only after some exploratory work has been done. The 100KW laser program proposal if the report is correct, means they have crossed the threshold and its common sense that they'd seek indigenization for hard to procure subsystems, as these items will be import-denied given the nature of the program. Please dont make anymore caste based jibes or random rhetorical posts.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by csaurabh »

Well, my information on the subject does not come from newspaper articles. I will just leave it at that for now.
Meanwhile if you want to know the development of laser and optical technology ( or lack of it ), in the country, you can always attend Laser World of Photonics India trade fair which they organize every year. You can get a good picture from that.
jaysimha
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by jaysimha »

DRDO tech focus
Vol 29 | Issue 2 | April 2021
https://drdo.gov.in/sites/default/files ... il2021.pdf
NETRA: THE INDIGENOUS AEW&C
sivab
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by sivab »

https://www.isro.gov.in/update/22-mar-2 ... bution-qkd
ISRO makes breakthrough demonstration of free-space Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) over 300 m

For the first time in the country, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully demonstrated free-space Quantum Communication over a distance of 300 m. A number of key technologies were developed indigenously to accomplish this major feat, which included the use of indigenously developed NAVIC receiver for time synchronization between the transmitter and receiver modules, and gimbal mechanism systems instead of bulky large-aperture telescopes for optical alignment.

The demonstration has included live videoconferencing using quantum-key-encrypted signals. This is a major milestone achievement for unconditionally secured satellite data communication using quantum technologies.


The Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology underpins Quantum Communication technology that ensures unconditional data security by virtue of the principles of quantum mechanics, which is not possible with the conventional encryption systems. The conventional cryptosystems used for data-encryption rely on the complexity of mathematical algorithms, whereas the security offered by quantum communication is based on the laws of Physics. Therefore, quantum cryptography is considered as ‘future-proof’, since no future advancements in the computational power can break quantum-cryptosystem.

The free-space QKD was demonstrated at Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, between two line-of-sight buildings within the campus. The experiment was performed at night, in order to ensure that there is no interference of the direct sunlight.

The experiment is a major breakthrough towards ISRO’s goal of demonstrating Satellite Based Quantum Communication (SBQC), where ISRO is gearing up to demonstrate the technology between two Indian ground stations.

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jaysimha
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Post by jaysimha »

MTAR Technologies press release 16 March 2021
Receipt of export orders worth about Rs. 93 Crores
https://www1.nseindia.com/corporate/MTA ... chable.pdf
Karan M
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Karan M »

csaurabh wrote:Well, my information on the subject does not come from newspaper articles. I will just leave it at that for now.
Meanwhile if you want to know the development of laser and optical technology ( or lack of it ), in the country, you can always attend Laser World of Photonics India trade fair which they organize every year. You can get a good picture from that.
If your information is truly up to date and beyond newspaper articles, then do share it on the forum. Constant complaints don't help the forum or elevate the tone of the discussion. There is information if people actually look for it, and balance out general cynicism with some effort to see what's going on, and how things can be bettered.
jaysimha
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by jaysimha »

https://sourcing.eepcindia.org/
India MSME Defence Week
MSME PARTNERSHIP & SUB-CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES

https://sourcing.eepcindia.org/images/M ... nt%203.pdf

India MSME Defence Week:Country Session on Strategic Partnerships in Defence Sector


More videos here
https://www.youtube.com/c/eepcindia/videos
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Vips »

Cochin Shipyard's Rs 170 cr shipbuilding facility in West Bengal to be operational by June.

Public sector is expected to operationalise a Rs 170 crore modern shipbuilding facility that it is building in West Bengal by June 2021. The state-owned company, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, recently emerged as the lowest bidder for a Rs 10,000-crore contract by the Indian Navy to build next generation missile vessels.

Cochin Shipyard Limited, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Hooghly Cochin Shipyard Limited (HCSL), is currently setting up a modern shipbuilding facility at Nazirgunge, West Bengal at an estimated project cost of Rs 169.76 crore, as per a document of the Ministry of Shipping.

"The facility is expected to be operationalised in the first quarter of the financial year 2021-22," the document said.

HCSL targets to construct various types of vessels like Ro-Ro vessels, river-sea cargo vessels for bulk, liquids, containers, passenger vessels and other watercraft for the inland waterways.

Cochin Shipyard has also commissioned a new marine engineering training institute 'Vigyana Sagar', which was dedicated to the nation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 14, 2021.

The company recently inked a pact with NSE and IHC Holland BV to locally build worldclass dredgers in India. Currently, India depends on foreign dredgers for dredging work worth about Rs 2,000 crore per annum.

India's leading shipyard, can build ships up to 1,10,000 dead weight tonnage (DWT) and repair ships up to 1,25,000 DWT. The yard has delivered two of India's largest double hull Aframax tankers each of 95,000 DWT.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by kit »

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/ahmedab ... 740670.cms

Interestingly I was laughed at in this very forum 6 months back when I asked for the status of quantum communication technology in India!
What I feel is there is a big disconnect in the public narrative vs reality and possibilities..
jaysimha
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by jaysimha »

Came across this circular
Commemoration of 75 years dated 12 Mar 2021
https://dgaeroqa.gov.in/circular-list.htm

https://dgaeroqa.gov.in/writereaddata/P ... ya%20p.pdf

Lot of things to watch ....
A Sharma
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by A Sharma »

DRDO lab develops light weight Bullet Proof Jacket

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) lab Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), Kanpur has developed light weight Bullet Proof Jacket (BPJ) weighing 9.0 kilogrammes, meeting the qualitative requirements of Indian Army.

The Front Hard Armour Panel (FHAP) jacket was tested at Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh and met relevant BIS standards. The importance of this vital development lies in the fact that each gram of BPJ weight reduction is crucial in enhancing soldier comfort while ensuring the survivability. This technology reduces the weight of the medium sized BPJ from 10.4 to 9.0 kilogrammes. Very specific materials and processing technologies have been developed in the laboratories for the purpose.

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO scientists and Industry for developing the light weight BPJ to make the soldiers more comfortable. Secretary Department of Defence R&D and Chairman Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) Dr G Satheesh Reddy congratulated the DMSRDE team for the development.
williams
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by williams »

A Sharma wrote:DRDO lab develops light weight Bullet Proof Jacket

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) lab Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment (DMSRDE), Kanpur has developed light weight Bullet Proof Jacket (BPJ) weighing 9.0 kilogrammes, meeting the qualitative requirements of Indian Army.

The Front Hard Armour Panel (FHAP) jacket was tested at Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh and met relevant BIS standards. The importance of this vital development lies in the fact that each gram of BPJ weight reduction is crucial in enhancing soldier comfort while ensuring the survivability. This technology reduces the weight of the medium sized BPJ from 10.4 to 9.0 kilogrammes. Very specific materials and processing technologies have been developed in the laboratories for the purpose.

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO scientists and Industry for developing the light weight BPJ to make the soldiers more comfortable. Secretary Department of Defence R&D and Chairman Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) Dr G Satheesh Reddy congratulated the DMSRDE team for the development.
The below link was reported in 2015 about collaborative development of a 1.5 kg - 1.8 kg vest.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/bullet-proof-vests-to-shed-weight-by-half/articleshow/48418208.cms

9 kg vest should be a disaster for the soldiers especially in high altitude. I hope it is ddm in play.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Karan M »

Given they are already using 10kg vests, 9 kg would be an improvement, not a disaster. Weight depends on threat level.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Thakur_B »

williams wrote:
9 kg vest should be a disaster for the soldiers especially in high altitude. I hope it is ddm in play.
1.8 KG vest would indicate vest without plates. 9 KG is very good for a Level III / Level IV vest.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by williams »

Thakur_B wrote:
williams wrote:
9 kg vest should be a disaster for the soldiers especially in high altitude. I hope it is ddm in play.
1.8 KG vest would indicate vest without plates. 9 KG is very good for a Level III / Level IV vest.
You guys are right. I take it back. I did not think about the armour plates
jaysimha
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Post by jaysimha »

Aerospace Engineers Pvt Ltd. & Elastomeric Engineers http://thesalemaeropark.com/company/#fusion-tab-aboutus
Elastomeric Engineers started its venture into the Aviation Sector with the encouragement received from Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam’s speech in a Defence Seminar conducted in Bengaluru at 1991 as he had highlighted the needs for Non- Metallic parts in the Aerospace Defence Areas.

Post the seminar, we spent 3 – 4 years in learning and understanding the Aviation standards and specifications, Airworthiness Procedure and Expectations and finally developed its first Canopy Seal successfully in 1997 – 98 for Kiran Aircraft which was CEMILAC and DRDO approved.

Elastomeric Engineers is now proud in saying that all military aircrafts in the Indian Sky runs with the Seals from us. In addition to the Canopy Seal, Elastomeric Engineers is also into various other Non- Metallic parts in Aviation and Defence sector.
Kudos ...

https://youtu.be/-WWStbBX9tE
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by nam »

titash
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by titash »

Karan M wrote:
csaurabh wrote:Well, my information on the subject does not come from newspaper articles. I will just leave it at that for now.
Meanwhile if you want to know the development of laser and optical technology ( or lack of it ), in the country, you can always attend Laser World of Photonics India trade fair which they organize every year. You can get a good picture from that.
If your information is truly up to date and beyond newspaper articles, then do share it on the forum. Constant complaints don't help the forum or elevate the tone of the discussion. There is information if people actually look for it, and balance out general cynicism with some effort to see what's going on, and how things can be bettered.
Folks, we are all on the same team.

Thought process should be to identify genuine capability gaps and the reasons why.

If there is no commercial grade in-house lastec development worth its name, then we should call it out, and brainstorm on ways to mitigate. No need to be cynical, and equally, no reason to claim that all's well either.

I mentioned this on an earlier post. The world may be full of opportunists, profiteers, and naysayers...but it falls to people like us (folks with an interest in India's security and well being) to take baby steps towards developing niche capabilities in-house...either startup something, or fund startups, or get business for startups by spreading the word and using your connections. What are we individually contributing rather than just discussing?
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Karan M »

titash wrote:
Karan M wrote:
If your information is truly up to date and beyond newspaper articles, then do share it on the forum. Constant complaints don't help the forum or elevate the tone of the discussion. There is information if people actually look for it, and balance out general cynicism with some effort to see what's going on, and how things can be bettered.
Folks, we are all on the same team.

Thought process should be to identify genuine capability gaps and the reasons why.

If there is no commercial grade in-house lastec development worth its name, then we should call it out, and brainstorm on ways to mitigate. No need to be cynical, and equally, no reason to claim that all's well either.

I mentioned this on an earlier post. The world may be full of opportunists, profiteers, and naysayers...but it falls to people like us (folks with an interest in India's security and well being) to take baby steps towards developing niche capabilities in-house...either startup something, or fund startups, or get business for startups by spreading the word and using your connections. What are we individually contributing rather than just discussing?
Titash,

First, for one, nobody here said anyone else is on another team. What has been said, repeatedly, is don't just sit and complain. If you find an issue, point out what's missing and propose a path forward. This thread and several others are not a place to just come and vent. Applies to all of us. Even I hold true to it, on days when I find something that irritates me, and instead of just complaining on the forum, I prefer to find something more productive to discuss.

Second, there is no point in "calling out" commercial grade in-house lastec development. This is just incorrect. As has been repeatedly made clear - it is not LASTEC's prerogative to fund commercial grade laser development. That other DRDO labs do so for their respective raw materials etc is just a reflection of the fact that the primary stakeholders - Indian industry and other industrial research units havent been very bothered about it.

DRDO overall has very limited funds. Even the most casual perusal of DRDOs budgetary allocations shows that they and many other labs would have struggled to meet basic needs, given more high profile programs took up most of the key funding. If there is finally a proposal to fund them to develop a proper high power laser, then its an occasion to be happy about. Not sit and complain about how "why not already" which is to be frank, completely pointless given India's economic trajectory and its ruling leadership from 2004-14.

Third, its a bit optimistic to expect the forum to fund capabilities of this nature. The actual program should be lead by CSIR and even that organization has been told by GOI, per offline reports, that given existing funds crunch, to find commercial sponsors for ab-initio programs.
Having said that the GOI has been having all the labs - DRDO, ISRO, CSIR, DPSUs and academic institutes sit down and collaborate in developing capabilities. I already posted how a CSIR lab has taken steps in developing commercial lasers (low wattage).

So if you want to contribute, and think "discussing" is not enough, nothing stops you from developing an understanding of the entire laser value chain, writing a policy paper on it with a roadmap, costs involved and submitting it to GOI for consideration.

However making generic statements about "lets not claim all is well" etc, (who did this btw?) is not the answer nor are generic complaints on this thread. That's a waste of all our collective time including yours, and serves only to clutter up the thread.
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Post by jaysimha »

Balu Forge sees Defence Production as the next catalyst for its growth; Stock gains
There has been a strong focus at Balu Forge towards building readiness for the needs of India as well as a Hub for the Global Defence Industry.
April 07, 2021 2:31 IST | India Infoline News Service
https://www.indiainfoline.com/article/n ... 281_1.html

https://www.baluindustries.com/
BFIL in its regulatory filing said that there is a Dedicated Unit planned for Ammunition & Advance Defence System Production in partnership with prominent players in the Global Defense Production Mix. In Addition to the Dedicated Defence Production Facility, the R&D & Innovation Campus in Belgaum, India will spearhead the strategy laid down to build Advance Defence systems & solutions.

That said, BFIL adds that the R&D unit will work through a 4000 Square Meter Technology Center fully equipped with State of the art equipment. The Dedicated Defence Unit is set to commercialize production from Q4 FY 2021/22 & the R&D Center from Q2 FY 2021/22.

"We have also secured & successfully supplied for over 5 years to Defense Forces in two prominent European Countries and executed supply as a single source to these nations. There will continue to be a strong focus on further expanding the reach & customer base amongst more Defense Organizations globally & building a strong Defence Production Center for the Local & Global Defence Industry," BFIL added.

Notably, BFIL is an already approved vendor to a majority of the 41 Ordnance Factories part of the Ordnance Factory Board in India & for the supply of 182 Components to the above factories.
jaysimha
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Post by jaysimha »

INCOSE India - AeSI Design Division
MBSE Summit - 2021
15th, 16th April 2021, 1630 h- 2030 h (IST), Virtual

Image

https://sites.google.com/view/mbse-lwg- ... bse-summit


Panel: Aerospace & Space Industry Outlook
Air Marshal Raghunath Nambiar (Retd.), PVSM, AVSM, VM & BAR, Former DCAS & AOC&C, Western Command
Dr B N Suresh, Chancellor, IIST, Former Director,VSSC , Honorary Professor, ISRO
Dr Tessy Thomas, DG (Aero), DRDO
Dr Bala Bharadvaj, Former Managing Director, Boeing India Engineering & Technology Center
Moderator: Dr. Kota Harinarayana, SERB SERB Distinguished Fellow, CSIR-NAL & Chairman, DD-AeSI
csaurabh
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Post by csaurabh »

Karan M, Titash, etc.

I find it difficult to put my thoughts into words. Let me give an example. I just recently bought an infrared halogen lamp from Dr. Fischer in Germany (this is related to an ISRO project ). It goes without saying that there is no manufacturer in India which supplies a good quality lamp such as this. The halogen lamp is essentially a product of gas discharge tube manufacturing which goes all the way back to the basic incandescent lamps made by Edison in the 19th Century. Almost all forms of lighting that we see today ,including Xenon flash lamp, CFL, etc . are basically products of improving this lamp making technology which consists of making the filament, blowing the glass, filling gases in different proportions, and applying coatings. You would think that we have mastered such a technology by now but it's not even close. Now, gas-based lasers ( CO2, He-Ne) etc. are basically an outgrowth of gas discharge tube manufacturing, which itself we don't have in the country.

The other technology used for making laser is solid state/semiconductor technology, which we usually tend to associate with chips (IC) but really they are used in all kinds of application, including solar cells, optical fibre and power semiconductors. These are used in Diode lasers, Nd:YAG and fiber lasers. Our private sector in their infinite wisdom have not set up even a basic foundry in the country for the making of even basic semiconductors, a technology which at this time is over 70 years old.

Finally for activating the laser you need high voltage power supplies ( eg. 10 KV ). I don't know any electronics companies in the country making such products ( What electronics companies?? We hardly even have any! ) . The high voltage power supplies I have seen used in ISRO and BARC are usually imported from companies like Ortec.

I think this illustrates why manufacturing a laser from scratch in the country is basically a pipe dream. There is no ecosystem in the country which supports it and no hope of having it anytime soon. The maximum we can do are basically laser applications- ie. the laser itself would be imported but the rest of the system would be developed for a particular application. It is fine if DRDO labs are doing this ( we ourselves are also making laser based products this way ), but I am not comfortable with calling them 'indigenous' beyond a certain point. China on the other hand actually manufactures its laser and optical components - they actually are indigenous!

On this forum we have various discussions about DEW, Quantum encryption and other near science-fiction level things while failing daily at the very basics of manufacturing. Our baniya industries are so focused on cost cutting and short term thinking that expecting anything of quality is quite beyond them. I have already bemoaned the import of basic technologies like ball bearings and soldering irons - we just don't make good quality ones. Sorry if I'm rambling at this point. I think there is a solution but it has to be solidly backed by the govt. and organizations like DRDO. If we can make the Tejas, we can make these things. Just somehow the will has to be there and a plan stretching over decades.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Prem Kumar »

csaurabh: you bring up good points. These are valid criticisms & concerns. The only thing that rubs people off the wrong way is constant diatribes. But I understand that, since you are probably living this every day, the outlook might look bleak at times. I also notice that well-meaning people living outside India have a rosier picture than the reality. Living & working here requires a thick skin and endless optimism so that one doesn't become a cynic.

The situation you describe was the same in aerospace manufacturing in India, till Tejas happened. Not only the aircraft, but the entire ecosystem had to be built from scratch. Which also produced experts in the field.

I think Dr. Kalam mentioned this in his book. We need 2 tracks: technology development & products. Just one or the other won't do.

Tech dev alone will become an academic exercise with nothing to show. Products alone would lead to screwdriver-giri. We need a decadal roadmap to master a list of identified technologies & a series of ambitious projects that these techs would go into (or which will spawn these techs).

Central Govt defence spending needs to be the key driver of this. The spin-offs can go into the industry.
Karan M
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Post by Karan M »

csaurabh wrote:I think this illustrates why manufacturing a laser from scratch in the country is basically a pipe dream. There is no ecosystem in the country which supports it and no hope of having it anytime soon. The maximum we can do are basically laser applications- ie. the laser itself would be imported but the rest of the system would be developed for a particular application. It is fine if DRDO labs are doing this ( we ourselves are also making laser based products this way ), but I am not comfortable with calling them 'indigenous' beyond a certain point. China on the other hand actually manufactures its laser and optical components - they actually are indigenous!
CSaurabh,

There is literally nothing in your post about what DRDO is doing or isnt doing or what their roadmap is.

Do you not see the issue there?

You are talking of the current state of affairs. Fine, we all know that to varying degrees. Now do you know of how much funding is applied, and where we are in terms of determining what specific items we wish to indigenize, and what we will choose to import in say a Mk1?

If not, then there is very little value add. All it means is there is just a complaint "oh things are bad".

Yes, we know they are bad, we know our industrial policy was lackadaisical, our R&D funding was insufficient and so on and so forth.

Which is why sitting and complaining about how things *are*/*were* without bringing new information to the table regarding what is intended to be done, is essentially a waste of time. There is nothing to discuss here, nothing to add value to, what is the point of complaining when something positive is being done!

You dont know what is being planned, but are sure they aren't indigenous. How so? Are you sure that will still be the case when Mk3 or Mk4 or whatever arrives?

Ok, then you will state its all classified, so its not fair to be expected to be aware of these items. Fair enough.

Do better.

Use your awareness to focus on what can be indigenized - low hanging fruits.

What must be indigenized - long term application/sanctionable/high value add.

Write up a discussion piece, circulate amongst your contacts, share it with PMO etc.

That's doing something productive rather than complaining on such a pointless tangent. That we are actually funding some progress in a crucial space and you are already complaining it isnt indigenous.

Were the PRC making all Chinese gear from day one? How much did they beg, borrow, steal, get from foreign OEMs, fund on their own. What's the point of complaining about something positive, when we are commencing on that path.

Do you think all our systems were indigenous from day 1? What was indigenous was the design, the software, much of the architecture. We took decades to build up the ecosystem and indigenized subsystem by subsystem, and then went to the component level.

If we were to dismiss every program beginning by insisting on high indigenization from day one, there would be no progress.

So do something productive, and articulate a long term roadmap. It might reach someplace useful and they might find out somepoint they overlooked. That's a fair sight more useful than complaining about something otherwise meaningless, that we didnt do this in the past, so here we are.

The Gripen is now in its 3rd decade of devpt and is still not "indigenous", vis a vis Swedish capability. Tejas first flew in 2001, and it will take till Mk1A to become more indigenous, and even then there will be components that are still imported because we simply can't afford to indigenize every last component. Yet nobody can reasonably argue that just because we don't make every last item in the Tejas locally, it loses its significance.

Would we prefer a completely imported laser weapon from Raytheon or one with say 30% localization which increases gradually. I know what I'd prefer.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by csaurabh »

The development of Tejas not only created a jet aircraft but established a good industrial manufacturing ecosystem for aerospace structures , components and avionics. Not sure whether this was intentional or unintentional.
I don't see the same happening with DRDO's laser based products, not with this amount of cloak and dagger/hush hush discussions. Lastec and LRDE have been operational for several decades yet their contribution to India's manufacturing ecosystem of laser/photonics/optics has been negligible.
Not everything needs to be indigenous from day 1 but there should be a semblance of a plan to get there. I don't see the plan anywhere when it comes to laser/optical products. Either in the news articles or on the ground.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by jaysimha »

NanoSniffer: IIT Bombay Incubated Startup Develops World's First Microsensor-Based Explosive Trace Detector
by Swarajya Staff-Apr 9, 2021 10:37 AM

https://swarajyamag.com/news-brief/nano ... JRk9-nZU4g


It accuratedly detects all classes of military, conventional and homemade explosives including RDX, HMX, TNT, TATP, Nitroglycerin, Ammonium Nitrate and plastic explosives. The device gives visible and audible alerts with sunlight-readable color display.

NanoSniffer has successfully passed Pune based DRDO’s High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) testing and has also been tested by the country’s elite counter-terror force National Security Guard (NSG), the Ministry of Education said on Friday (9 April)


https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1710645

Image

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NanoSniffer has been marketed by Vehant Technologies, a spin-off from a former IIT Delhi incubated startup Kritikal Solutions.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by jaysimha »

Ministry of Defence
New Inventions by DRDO
Posted On: 22 MAR 2021 3:20PM by PIB Delhi

During the past 3 years, 79 projects amounting to Rs.8201 Crores directly pertaining to development of new defence equipments i.e. Cruise Missile, Anti-Ship Missile, Surface-to-Air Missile, Air-to-Air Missile, Extended Range Anti-Submarine Rocket, Mounted Gun System, Ammunitions, Electronic Warfare System, Radars, Torpedoes, High Endurance Autonomous Underwater Vehicle etc. have been undertaken. Some of the DRDO developed systems which are likely to be available to our defence personnel during 2021-23 are as follow:


BY 2021

ASTRA Missile
Anti Drone System
SATCOM Devices
QRSAM

2022
ADFCR
Helina
ADTCR
Guided Bomb
NAG
NGARM

2023
SAAW


Many DRDO developed technologies such as
Battle Field Surveillance RadAr (BFSR),
Joint Venture Protective Carbine (JVPC) Jammers,
5.56 mm Rifle,
40 mm Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBRL),
Oleo Resin (OR) Grenade etc

are being utilized by the State Police.

Upgrades to some of the systems have been developed by DRDO. Details of the same are as follow:-

Arjun Mk-1A
Akash-NG
Light Combat Aircraft Mk-1A
Medium Power Radar-Extended Range
PINAKA- Extended Range, Guided
Electronics & Communication System: Unified Mission Computer for SU-30 MKI aircraft, Internal EW System for MIG-29 Upgrade Aircraft, EW systems for Naval platforms.


This information was tabled in a written reply by Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Shripad Naik to a question asked by Shri Harnath Singh Yadav and Shri Vijay Pal Singh Tomar in Rajya Sabha today.



Nampi/DK/Savvy/ADA



(Release ID: 1706596) Visitor Counter : 516

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1706596
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Post by jaysimha »

Two webinars titled ” MSMEs & Start-ups” and “Export Capabilities” were conducted by #MIDHANI as part of the ‘#AzadiKaAmrutMahotsav’ celebration on 15.04.2021. Shri N.Gowri Sankara Rao, Director (Finance), Shri Dasu Atchutaram, GM (Commercial), and Sr. Officials of MIDHANI graced the webinars along with MSMEs, Start-ups, and Vendors of MIDHANI.

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https://midhani-india.in/news_marquee/m ... lebration/
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by jaysimha »

Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur is organising an international conference on Range Technology (IEEE ICORT-2021) from 5th to 6th Aug 2021 on virtual platform.

https://icort.in/

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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by jaysimha »

The New Aerospace: Vigorous and Fruitful Yield
By Mannu Mathew -May 14, 2021

https://www.eletimes.com/the-new-aerosp ... tful-yield
The Indian Armed Forces’ demand for just such a connected soldier may be met by a public-private partnership under the government’s defence public sector undertakings (DPSU) program between Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Hyderabad’s Grene Robotics, a niche private-sector player in AI and robotics, which are jointly developing an advanced man-portable surface-to-air missile.

The Indian Army is also focusing on bettering its C4I2SR capabilities while being mindful of the need for interoperability among the three services. As future operations will necessarily be joint, interoperability is a major objective of the newly created Department of Military Affairs that will form theatre commands.

BEL and CAIR are developing artillery combat, command and control system, while BEL, the Electronics Corporation of India and the Tata Group’s CMC are setting up a tactical command, control, communications and information system for field formations and ground-based electronic warfare projects.

Other programs nearing development are the
->Swathi mobile artillery-locating phased array radar,
->the naval airfield integrated security system,
->BEL’s battlefield surveillance system for high-altitude operations and
->the DRDO-designed USHUS-2 integrated submarine sonar system.


There’s also the DRDO-designed
->Rohini 3D central acquisition radar for use with India’s Akash surface-to-air missile that is capable of tracking 150 targets,
->the Maareech homing system for India’s Varunastra heavy-weight torpedo,
->the Monopulse secondary surveillance radar, and
->DRDO’s ship-to-shore communication system.

The Mahindra Defence Systems and Telephonics Corporation joint venture manufactures the RDR series of airborne weather radars. It’s a major effort to prepare the nation for an increasingly uncertain strategic environment.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Vips »

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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Vips »

Zetwerk forays into aerospace, defence sectors.

Zetwerk Manufacturing, a contract manufacturer of capital and consumer goods, on Thursday said it has forayed into aerospace and defence sectors to develop and build products and technology for Indian and global customers.

Zetwerk Kinetix Technologies Pvt Ltd, a joint venture company, will develop and build niche technology products such as unmanned aerial vehicles, protection systems, rocket motor transportation systems, and defence systems for Indian defence infrastructure.

Zetwerk Kinetix has also set up a manufacturing facility in Hosur, Tamil Nadu. It will invest in tapping the capabilities and capacities of other small and medium enterprises suppliers in the production ecosystem.

Zetwerk Aerosystems Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Zetwerk Manufacturing, will focus on the aerospace, defence and space domain and will primarily manufacture satellites, composite products, and rocket casings required by the defence ministry.

In the aerospace category, Zetwerk Aerosystems plans to manufacture aircraft parts for international original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and aircraft manufacturers. It will pursue orders from both state-run defence and space units and target international OEMs in this domain.

“Indian aerospace and defence manufacturing ecosystem are at the cusp of massive transformation for the next two decades. Enabled by a strong push for Make in India, Zetwerk is thrilled to partner with the key stakeholders to catalyze a strong shift in the manufacturing footprint from other countries to India. We will collaboratively pursue technology partnerships with Indian and foreign OEMs to address the growing demands of clients in the aerospace and defence sectors," said Srinath Ramakkrushnan, co-founder and COO, Zetwerk Manufacturing.

The company will continuously invest in engineering and manufacturing capabilities strongly in the coming years, Ramakkrushnan added.

In February, the Bengaluru-based startup, founded in 2017, raised $120 million in a Series D funding led by US-based Greenoaks Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by A Sharma »

DRDO develops Critical Near Isothermal Forging Technology for aeroengines

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has established the near isothermal forging technology to produce all the five stages of high-pressure compressors (HPC) discs out of difficult-to-deform titanium alloy using its unique 2000 MT isothermal forge press. The technology has been developed by Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), a premier metallurgical laboratory of DRDO at Hyderabad. This is a crucial technology for establishing self-reliance in aeroengine technology. With this development, India has joined the league of limited global engine developers to have the manufacturing capabilities of such critical aero engine components.

To meet the bulk production requirements, DMRL technology was transferred to M/s MIDHANI through a licensing agreement for technology transfer (LAToT). Using the isothermal forge press facility available at DMRL, Hyderabad, bulk quantity (200 numbers) of HPC disc forgings pertaining to various compressor stages have been jointly (DMRL & MIDHANI) produced and successfully supplied to HAL (E), Bengaluru for fitment in to Adour Engine that powers the Jaguar/Hawk Aircrafts.

In India, the Adour engine is overhauled by HAL (E), Bengaluru under a licensed manufacturing agreement with OEM. Like in any aeroengine, the HPC Drum assembly has to be replaced after a specified number of operations or in case of damage. The annual requirements of these high value HPC discs are quite large, warranting indigenisation. HPC drum is a highly stressed sub-assembly and is also subjected to low cycle fatigue and creep at elevated temperature. The raw materials and forgings for HPC drum are required to be of the highest quality which can meet the specified combination of static and dynamic mechanical properties.

DMRL developed this forging technology by integrating various science and knowledge-based tools. The methodology adopted by DMRL is generic in nature and can be tuned to develop other similar aeroengine components. The compressor discs produced using this methodology met all the requirements stipulated by the airworthiness agencies for the desired application. Accordingly, the technology was type certified and letter of technical approval (LoTA) was accorded. Based on the exhaustive component level and performance evaluation test results, HAL (E) and Indian Air Force cleared the components for engine fitment. Apart from DMRL and HAL (E), various agencies such as MIDHANI, CEMILAC and DGAQA worked in unison to establish this crucial technology.

Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has congratulated the scientists of DRDO, Industry and all other agencies involved in the development of this critical Aero Engine related technology.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Prem Kumar »

2nd "negative arms import list" released. Some interesting info that shows when some weapons systems will be inducted. But overall, terribly disappointing. Its turning out to be an exercise where the existing & planned weapons systems are put in the list, while imports continue where they always have. They've even gone 1 step further and started including components. At this rate, expect to see nuts & bolts in the next list.

Conspicuous by its absence is ATAGS

https://twitter.com/livefist/status/1399340506778423297
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by mody »

A notable inclusion is 3.5 Ton light helicopters. This means that Ka-226T may not be purchased or jointly produced. Though the list specifically says single engined and land based. Don't know if this leaves the door open for the Ka-226T, as it is twin engined.

The other disappointing part is that we have both a 3 Ton and 5.5 Ton helicopter and so logically helicopters upto 5.5 Ton weight should have been banned.
This leaves open the door for the Panther for the NUH requirement, as it is 4-4.5 tons in weight.

Also, there seems to be some confusion with regards to towed artillery systems. 155mm 52 caliber towed artillery guns were banned as part of the first NO-IMPORT list itself. The date was set as Dec-2020. There was speculation that this might be extended to Dec-2021 to push ATHOS through. As there is no extension for imports granted for this type of guns, the chances for ATAGS improve.
However, the yahudi brothers might still try to get in by offering indigenous manufacturing from the 1st piece itself, rather than import an X number of pieces initially, followed by ToT and local production.
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by A Sharma »

DRDO Tech Focus June 2021

FUTURISTIC AIRBORNE SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGIES
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Re: India's R&D in Defence DRDO, PSUs and Private Sector

Post by Vips »

mody wrote: Also, there seems to be some confusion with regards to towed artillery systems. 155mm 52 caliber towed artillery guns were banned as part of the first NO-IMPORT list itself. The date was set as Dec-2020. There was speculation that this might be extended to Dec-2021 to push ATHOS through. As there is no extension for imports granted for this type of guns, the chances for ATAGS improve.
However, the yahudi brothers might still try to get in by offering indigenous manufacturing from the 1st piece itself, rather than import an X number of pieces initially, followed by ToT and local production.
Against the Indian government policy of considering foreign origin goods qualified as 'Made in India' if it is assembled/manufactured in India if 50% of the parts are manufactured in India under TOT, Israel has offered to make all the 1580 Athos in India through the Kalyani group with 75% of the parts to be manufactured in India under TOT.
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