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

[A Sharma]

DRDO Newsletter March 2025

[ramana]

viewtopic.php?p=2640566#p2640566

DRDO and defence mfg showcase the mfg in India.

Very good updates as opposed to constant whining by services and media.

[ramana]

A loud round of applause for DRDO and the scientists who toiled hard to achieve success by the three services.

#OperationSindoor

[ritesh]

Absolutely, true saar

[suryag]

yes lets now fast track the following
1. su30 mki upgrade
2. mk1a - 90nos
3. akash - 1s/1p/or whatever 1x
4. drones of all types
5. *RSAM(M, L, X(kusha ?))
6. Armed UGVs
7. Pinaka
8. all types of guns - MGS, Towed, ULW, Tracked etc
9. midget Submarines(Unmanned)

[uddu]

Solar Group Tests Micro-Missile Drone System 'Bhargavastra'

https://bharatshakti.in/solar-group-tes ... rgavastra/

Was Bhargavastra system deployed or tested during the drone attacks?

[Rakesh]

https://x.com/MeghUpdates/status/1921482249649651777 ---> CM Yogi Adityanath at inauguration of New BrahMos unit in Lucknow.

[ramana]

Any progress on this requirement?

https://indiandefenseanalysis.wordpress ... ket-sb-gr/

[Hriday]

A very informative thread on active protection system for tanks. Some excerpts given below without quote function.
https://x.com/thugner101/status/1927427 ... lROJA&s=19

LRDE's rather unique X-band pulsed MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) radar for the in-development Active Protection System with very elaborate specs. The receivers are actually 48 channels in total (it's 24 per arm). Fairly low power consumption of 160W per unit (4 in total). (My comment- see the brochure for details in the above link)
..
The radars are protected by STANAG 4569 level-3 rated ballistic panels mounted over Aluminium Al6061 frames (either 28 mm S2 glass + 8 mm B4C ceramic or 25 mm UHMWPE + 6 mm B4C ceramic) for protection against various small arms fire & shrapnel and other vibrations.
..
The APS launcher module is pretty generic (atleast the test bench one). Consisting of a pair of 100 mm bore launch+ignition tubes with trunnions for elevation against top attack munitions.
..
The warhead is just as generic. Consisting of a 100 mm MEFP directed warhead. So far said to be tested against 84 mm Carl Gustav's HEAT rounds and interestingly, also 3BM42 Mango.
...
In addition to this, LRDE (notice the faint emblem on the right) has also designed an X-band AESA radar (256 TRMs) with AMPL. Advertised range of 1000 m and said to be also available in a plank-config (the exhibited one is a tile). Applications of this design are unknown.

Also, weirdly CVRDE is working on their own APS radar (along with LWRs, EO/IR sensors & IR jammers) in a collab with IIT-M. Very strange when a sister lab as LRDE has already designed atleast 2 radars. Likewise, BEL has also embarked on a similar project with an unknown partner.

[Hriday]

See the 1.21 minutes video of Samir V Kamat in the link.
https://x.com/ANI/status/19280042317616 ... mWkAA&s=19

#WATCH | Delhi | At the CII Annual Business Summit, Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat says, "We need to invest more in research and development. Today, we spend 5 per cent of our Defence budget on R&D. The Raksha Mantri has promised us that in the next five years, this will increase gradually to 10% of the Defence budget."

[bala]

Project Kusha of India is a future Air Defense shield which purports to go beyond S-400. India’s defense R&D is advancing rapidly with Project Kusha, a long-range indigenous air defense system being developed by DRDO. Capable of countering Mach 7 hypersonic threats, Project Kusha aims to complement existing systems like the Russian S-400 while offering India an autonomous, scalable, and cost-effective alternative in the long run.

Project Kusha: India’s Future Air Defense Shield - PGurus
youtube.com/watch?v=l1Tz7h0G0p0

copy into browser and watch

[Prem Kumar]

Let the orders for QRSAM & Akash-NG materialize first

Per latest reports, QRSAM order might happen in Q1 of 2026 and Akash-NG after that. At this glacial pace, Kusha will take 10 years for induction

[bala]

This is good news for those wanting to procure equipment to do science. Sanjeev Sanyal says:

Rules for procurement of scientific equipment eased for government funded institutions. This was a long-standing demand for ease-of-doing-science

https://x.com/sanjeevsanyal/status/1931033572799811703

[AdityaM]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ons1K5qdwU&t=1954s

Did the French copy the Marut? Watch from 32min 34 sec

[sanjayc]

DRDO chief Dr Samir V Kamat said that the DRDO is going to start the manufacturing of 120 km range and 300 km range Pinaka rocket systems soon, and these rocket systems will be included in the Indian Army fleet within the next 3 to 5 years.

DRDO chief Dr Samir V Kamat said that Pinaka and Pinaka Enhanced Range rocket systems have already been included in the Indian Army fleet. And along with this, he said that the trials of Guided Pinaka have also been completed by DRDO. Its order will also be given by the Army soon.

https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/ ... -09-993966

[bala]

Good overview on the new generation Rudram, Pinaka and lastly I-STAR by Major Gaurav Arya. Easy to understand these weapons. He explains the key specifications of these advanced systems and also breaks down the significance of the GE engine deal with the U.S. company. Major Arya discusses why India should consider sharing its D-4 anti-drone technology with Taiwan.

Next-Gen War Tech: Rudram-IV, Pinaka & I-STAR | The Chanakya Dialogues Major Gaurav Arya



// For Taiwan: we should insist that Taiwan agrees to remove claims on Arunachal Pradesh from their map and agrees that Tibet (also remove from their maps) should be freed from China's CCP. We also need their help in semiconductors. They can get brahmos, nag, pinaka, rudram from DRDO catalog of weapons. India also opens a proper embassy in Taiwan and vice versa.

[Rakesh]

'Major challenge is availability of propulsion systems': DRDO chairman Samir V. Kamat
https://www.theweek.in/theweek/current/ ... rview.html
15 June 2025

[drnayar]

anything sold to Taiwan would most likely end up in China.. even the US is leery of sending its high end equipment to Taiwan

[Manish_P]

Staffing crisis at HAL

https://m.economictimes.com/opinion/et- ... 811047.cms

In the design field, knowledge is traditionally passed down through generations. However, a gap at the entry level threatens this continuity—when current mid-level designers retire in the next 10–15 years, a severe shortage of expertise could cripple HAL’s ability to design and develop new aircraft and helicopters.

HAL’s workforce has shrunk to half its previous strength, even as project demands have increased.

Even when junior and mid-level staff are considered together, the manpower remains insufficient. Both groups are now overworked, fatigued, and increasingly disheartened

Design outsourcing is a still-born idea. The existing designers will be forced to train greenhorns recruited by contractors to make them somewhat competent. Usually, owing to low salaries paid by vendors, most of these engineers leave once they pick up some competency. So, another set of rookies will come on board, and the training process will be repeated. This is a waste of time