Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

[RPK]

Pride of India Expo attracts huge crowd

PIB Press Release

The pride of India Expo set up at the Kariyavattom campus (Thriruvanathapuram) was inaugurated yesterday by Shri Prithviraj Chavan, minister of Sate in the Ministry of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences.

The wide range of well – organized stalls put up by the various Govt departments and corporate have won dignitaries’ appreciation from all corners.

The exhibition comprises Theme pavilion and Hall of Pride, the latter dedicated to Prof. Satheesh Dhawan, one of the forefathers of Indian Space Technology. DRDO and ISRO, the two prestigious government undertakings jointly stole the show.

ISRO and DRDO officials briefed Shri Chavan on various projects. With great interest, he enquired about the chart description of Chandrayan and the missile data.

A total number of 300 stalls have been put up by various Govt. departments and NGOs. Daksh IED handling robot and 5m carbon composite smart bridge with a carrying capacity of 70 tons put up by DRDO were centre of attraction of the people. Daksh IED handling robot is remotely operated vehicle (ROV) which can locate, handle and destroy hazardous objects safely. DAVP, a media organization of ministry of Information and Broadcasting also put up an exhibition on Bharat Nirman highlighting various components/ flagship programmes under Bharat Nirman and achievements made in the field of science and technology.

 

[brahmastra]

Indian Defence Minister to Get Roadmap for DRDO’s Restructuring Later this Month

Rajat Pandit

(DRDO)’s time and cost overruns persist or initiate the long-delayed process of transforming it into an organisation capable of delivering cutting-edge weapon systems to the armed forces.Antony will later this month get the final roadmap for DRDO’s restructuring as proposed by the P Rama Rao panel and subsequently vetted by a high-level committee led by defence secretary Pradeep Kumar.

“After several meetings, the defence secretary committee, which also had representation from Army, Navy and IAF as well as other stake-holders, will submit its recommendations to Antony before January-end. The aim is to make DRDO, which has a budget of Rs 8,481 crore this year, more effective,” said a top official.

Experts, however, say ‘mere tinkering’ will simply not do any longer. Instead, DRDO and its 51 labs need a drastic overhaul, along with a strong push for joint ventures and private sector participation to ensure India develops a robust industrial-military infrastructure. “For a country like India which has global aspirations and the third-largest standing armed forces in the world, it’s very embarrassing that over 70% of its military requirements have to be imported,” said a senior officer.


The Rama Rao report, on its part, stresses DRDO should concentrate only on 8 to 10 ‘critical technologies’ of ‘strategic importance’ instead of also venturing into making juices, mosquito repellents, titanium dental implants and the like. For this, a dozen or so of DRDO’s 51 labs should be hived off to other ministries and the rest reorganized into five basic clusters — naval systems, aero-systems, combat systems, weapon systems and electronic warfare systems.Interestingly, another key recommendation is to create a Defence Technology Commission to allow DRDO to have a greater say.

 

[RPK]

fullstory

DRDO develops 'wearable computers' for soldiers

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 5 (PTI) The Indian soldier carrying a computer along with his weapons in an inhospitable terrain does not seem not far off.

The device is a compact, low power, high-performance computing platform capable of doing the functions of a desktop on the palm.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is working on a ?Wearable Computer? project which could be used for various applications including locating scattered team members while moving along in the most inhospitable terrain.

The prototype of the ?Wearable Computers? was displayed at the ongoing Indian Science Congress here, the personnel of Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR) under DRDO's Bangalore unit.

The device was capable of carrying out scores of applications like Situation Awareness, Command Control, Navigation, Sensor Data Processing, Video and Voice Streaming.

It could also perform Situation Assessment during disaster management.

 

[RPK]

defence.professionals | defpro.com

Indian Air Force plans to induct BrahMos missile in 2012



08:00 GMT, January 7, 2010 The country's prestigious 'BrahMos' missile would be inducted into the Indian Air Force in 2012 that would ensure all the three wings of the military are equipped with the supersonic cruise missile, a top defence official said today according to DD India.

"We have developed the airborne missile part, and process of integrating it with the Aircraft 'Sukhoi' was progressing', BrahMos Aerospace Ltd CMD A Shivathanu Pillai told the news agency at the BrahMos Aerospace's facility in Thiruvananthapuram.

Trial run of Airborne BrahMos missile would be held next year and the target was to integrate it with the Aircraft in 2012, he said.

As far as integration of the missile was concerned, the original designers of the aircraft were also involved, he said.

"We are working with them (Sukhoi). Some changes are necessary and once the alteration is identified, we will introduce the same in the aircraft," Pillai said.

With that, all the three wings of Indian military -Air Force, Navy and Army would have the supersonic missile 'BrahMos', he said.

Development of a new version of BrahMos missile, involving a technology that would discriminate the target and attack, in 2009 was a major achievement, he added.

Three flights on the new version had proved successful and the army would be inducting two more of this version shortly, Pillai said.

On the next generation cruise missile, he said hypersonic BrahMos missile was in design stage.

BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (BATL) was involved in developing eight sub-systems for the Defence and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

On expansion of BATL, Pillai said the plan was to establish an "assembly plan" within a year by acquiring 27 acres now occupied by Air Force close to BATL facility.

The state government had agreed to find alternative site for Air Force.

Once the full-fledged missile integration unit was established, the facility would be capable of producing 25 BrahMos missiles per year from Thiruvananthapuram, Pillai said.

However, he said that in the available facility an inspection bay would start from next month.

Referring to BATL's order book, he said ISRO had placed orders for products worth Rs 100 crore for its GSLV, PSLV and other missions.

Defence Research Development Organisation has also placed orders for many of their components and "we are expecting more items from DRDO," he said.

The company manufactures hardware, particularly for the 'Saruya' and 'Astra missiles, he said.

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam visited BATL on Tuesday and asked the management to diversify into civil areas as lot of opportunities were in store in critical sectors such as nuclear power and solar energy.

 

[RPK]

India developing e-dog to sniff out explosives

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 6 : Indian scientists are developing an electronic device that will sniff out explosives like RDX which remain undetected by existing security equipments.

"A prototype of the e-device is under development to smell explosives from a distance by a sensor coated with nano materials," Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Mumbai) professor V. Ramgopal Rao told IANS on the sidelines of the Indian Science Congress here.

The government has entrusted the electrical engineering department of the IIT to develop the high-tech device in collaboration with the High Energy Materials Research Lab of the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at Chandigarh and the Madras Atomic Power Station at Kalpakkam near Chennai.

To enhance security and check use of improvised explosive devices (IED) by terrorists and other criminal elements, Rao said the device with nano sensors could be installed at airports, railway stations, bus stands and other vital installations to detect them in solid, liquid or vapour form and seize before they are timed to explode.

"The device with an electronic nose will be able to sniff presence of IED or RDX in any of the three forms in the way trained canines can do. As training dogs in multitudes and deploying them at many places is a daunting task, an 'electronic dog' is a good alternative," Rao said.

The Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore has also been roped in to develope the portable e-device or e-dog, with a seed funding of $25 million from the government.

Earlier, at a plenary session on Nano Technology and Education in the premier science event, Rao said the e-device would raise an alarm when an explosive like RDX comes within its proximity through the micro-electronic mechanical system (MEMS) of its sensor, coated with nano particles per million (ppm) or billion in a block or specified area.

"Explosives such as RDX or TNT can be remotely detected and monitored using pure nitrogen molecules in nano materials in ambient conditions," Rao pointed out.

The e-device was demonstrated at a review meeting of the pilot project in Mumbai recently where explosives were detected in vapour form when pure nitrogen from its nano materials got released.

 

[RPK]

2 Astra missiles successfully test fired



Achieving a new milestone, India on Monday successfully test-fired two indigenously developed air-to-air missiles 'Astra' in quick succession from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Orissa.



The beyond visual range (BVR) missiles were test-fired from a ground launcher in the launch pad No. 2 of the ITR complex at about 9.45 am and 12.06 pm, defence sources said.



Describing both the trials as "successful", they said the data of the flight test was being thoroughly analysed. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists said Astra was a futuristic missile and it could intercept targets at supersonic speeds between mach 1.2 to 1.4 (mach one is equivalent to 1236 kmph.)



"The tests on the missile's navigation, control, air frame, propulsion and other sub-system have been validated," they said.



The complex missile system would undergo some more trials before being made fully operational, they said. The single stage, solid fuel 'Astra' missile "is more advanced in its category than the contemporary BVR missiles and it is capable of engaging and destroying highly manoeuvrable supersonic aerial targets," defence sources said.

Though the exact range of today's trial was not disclosed, scientists are working to ensure that 'Astra' performs effectively at different altitudes - one, cruising at an altitude of 15 km with 90 to 110 km range, another at an altitude up to 30,000 ft having a range of 44 km and the third, at sea level with a range of 30 km. Astra had earlier been test-fired from the ITR at the ground level several times, the sources added

 

[RPK]

Biosensors for quality control

KOCHI: With most people becoming conscious and aware of the quality of food, water and medicine, biosensors have started to play an important role in our lives.


They are fast becoming an important tool in research and commercial applications as they can identify specific targets in the human body and environment.

Glucose monitoring is familiar to most of us. Researchers are now working on remote sensing of airborne bacteria in bio-warfare, detection of pathogens, determining levels of toxic substances before and after bioremediation, routine blood urine analysis, drug residues in food and the human body.

While human senses provide essential information about our close environment, researchers are looking for new sensors that will give us an analysis of the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. This requires novel chemical sensors, molecular recognition and signal transduction.

Electrochemical sensors have caught the interest of the industry because of their remarkable ability in detection, experimental simplicity and low cost. The Department of Applied Chemistry at Cusat has been working on electrochemical sensors to detect metal ions and drugs in the human body.

Working on research projects funded by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the team has made biosensors to detect metal ions and drug residues.

“Clinical trials will be done later by the funding agency.

We have handed over the technology to the DRDO,’’ said K Girish Kumar, professor and head, Department of Applied Chemistry, Cusat.

“When we finished ‘Fabrication of potentiometric sensors for the determination of metal ions’ for DRDO, we got the next project, ‘Development of electrochemical sensors for the determination of pharmaceuticals’, which has been completed,’’ he said.

The team had an international collaboration with the Polish Academy of Sciences, a bilateral research programme of Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Girish says that the electrochemical sensors group plans to take up active research on enzyme immobilised biosensors and develop new Volta metric sensors for checking the quality of food in the market.

“Our ultimate aim is to develop disposable sensors,’’ he said.

 

[RPK]

'Snowfall in Kashmir declining, temperature rising'

fullstory

New Delhi, Jan 13 (PTI) Global warming appears to have taken a toll on the climate patterns in Kashmir valley which has been experiencing a decline in snowfall and rise in temperature, weather scientists have found.

Analysing the snow accumulation and ablation patterns in Pir Panjal and Shamshawari regions of the valley during the winters of 2004-05 to 2006-07, scientists have shown that the seasonal snow cover has reduced while the maximum temperature was increasing steadily.

"This decreasing trend in areal extent of snow cover, rise in maximum temperature and decreasing trend in total snowfall may be the indicators of global warming or climate change," senior scientist H S Negi of DRDO's Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, said reporting his findings in the Journal of Earth System Sciences

 

[RPK]

Naval version of Tejas under water as decisions stay pending - dnaindia.com

Bangalore: The naval version of Tejas, the indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA), is stuck in a limbo due to delay in decision-making, pushing the project 3-4 years behind schedule.


An official close to programme, who did not want to be named, said that despite a planned sanction of over Rs 600 crore by the Indian Navy to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for design and development of the carrier-borne LCA, the project is languishing “due to delays in decisions by the authorities concerned.”

“It’s been more than a year since foreign aircraft-makers have responded to the request for proposal (RFP) of DRDO’s aeronautical development agency (ADA) for the naval variant of Tejas, but ADA has yet to take a decision on selection of one of them,” said the official.

The aircraft vendors who responded to the RFP include Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Saab, Dassault, Eurofighter and MiG. They will help ADA to carry out the feasibility study and modify the fighter.

Apparently, development of the aircraft is getting delayed because the L1 (lowest tender) identified by ADA — Lockheed Martin — does not have the approvals and licenses to carry out the “full gambit of work identified.” Also, according to an insider, there were many gaps in the proposal submitted by Lockheed.

“Owing to these shortcomings, which had emerged after discussions with the L1 (Lockheed), additional time (six months) was granted to them for obtaining the necessary approvals (from the US government) and revising the area of work so as to cover all the aspects,” said the source.

That period lapsed in September 2009, but the government has not approached the second lowest bidder as stated in the existing rules.

“Normally, only a period of 60- 90 days is given but in this case, initially a period of two months was granted verbally, followed up by another three months. It is not clear as to what ADA plans to do now or who is bearing the cost of this delay,” said the source.

When contacted, P S Subramanyam, programme director at ADA, said he could not provide details on the bidding process of the project as it was “classified information.”

“It (RFP) is still under consideration and the project is going on,” Subramanyam told DNA.

Another industry source, who did not want to be named, said the LCA project of the Indian Navy has been put on the backburner for now as there was no urgent requirement for it.

“They (the navy) are trying to get proven aircraft instead of concentrating on an experimental aircraft,” he said.

Meanwhile, the navy has floated a request for information (RFI) to global aircraft manufacturers for new generation multi-role combat aircraft to be decked on its Russian aircraft carrier Gorshkov, which has been renamed INS Vikramaditya, or the INS Viraat.

Currently, the Indian Navy fleet consists of Russian MiG 29K and the British vintage Sea Harrier. It has already received four of the MiG29K and will take delivery of 18 others over the next few years.

 

[RPK]

fullstory

Project related to Brahmos to come up near Pilani

Jaipur, Jan 15 (PTI) A project related to the Brahmos cruise missile will be set up near Pilani in Rajasthan at a cost of Rs 200 crore, an official spokesman said today.

Defence Research and Development Organisation Chief Controller-Research Dr A Shivthnau Pillai today met Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and thanked the government for allocating 80 hectares of land for the project, the spokesman said.

About 150 experts would be employed for this project, Pillai apprised the CM.

Presenting a model of the missile to the chief minister, the DRDO official said that at present the missile was being assembled at Hyderabad.

DRDO had asked the state government to provide land for the project which was approved and sanctioned by Gehlot without delay, the spokesman said.

 

[beckham]

^^ Any info on the total number of production plants ?

 

[xuxu1457]

big plans,most of indian weapon plans are made by only one org(DRDO),this is the weakness of Indian defence system,less competition,and let military have no choice,easy to bleed bureaucratism,sometimes it will make unpractical plan to please the gov and the people.

 

[RPK]

In final test, Arjun tank to take on Russian T-90

New Delhi, Jan 16 (IANS) The Arjun main battle tank will take on the Russian built T-90 tanks March 1, when the core strength of the indigenously-built tank will be assessed by the Indian Army's observers.


New Delhi, Jan 16 (IANS) The Arjun main battle tank will take on the Russian built T-90 tanks March 1, when the core strength of the indigenously-built tank will be assessed by the Indian Army's observers.

This could deliver the final verdict on a platform that has been 36 years in the making and which has cost the exchequer Rs.3.5 billion ($71.7 million).


With one regiment of the Arjun tanks (comprising 45 tanks) completing their conversion training and field practice, the comparative trials will be conducted at Mahajan Range in Rajasthan March 1.


'Our aim is not to determine a winner in these trials, but to test the core strength of the tanks,' a senior official of the Indian Army said, wishing anonymity.


Experts from mechanised forces and officials from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) will also witness the comparative trials.


The DRDO had handed over 16 tanks to the Indian Army last year, completing one regiment of 45 tanks. The regiment was then subjected to conversion training and field practice.


The DRDO's demand for the comparative trials of the two tanks was being seen as a last-ditch bid to save the Arjun as some 500 tanks would need to be acquired by the army to make the project feasible.


The army, however, has made it clear that it will buy no more than the 124 Arjuns it has contracted for because it is unhappy with the tank on various counts. This apart, the army says the Arjun can at best remain in service for five to 10 years while it is looking 20 years ahead and needs a futuristic MBT.


The army's stand has been contrary to a third-party assessment by an internationally reputed tank manufacturer.


The official said: 'As suggested by the army, Arjun tanks were subjected to rigorous trials and assessment in a third-party audit. After the extensive evaluation, the auditor confirmed that Arjun is an excellent tank with very good mobility and firepower characteristics suitable for Indian deserts.'


'They (the auditor) also gave inputs on production procedures for further enhancing the performance of Arjun tanks. DRDO will be incorporating all these inputs before the next lot of 62 tanks is handed over to army by March 2010,' the official added.


The Indian Army laid down its qualitative requirement for the Arjun in 1972. In 1982, it was announced that the prototype was ready for field trials. However, the tank was publicly unveiled for the first time only in 1995.


Arjun was originally meant to be a 40-tonne tank with a 105 mm gun. It has now grown to a 50-tonne tank with a 120 mm gun. The tank was meant to supplement and eventually replace the Soviet-era T-72 MBT that was first inducted in the early 1980s.


However, delays in the Arjun project and Pakistan's decision to purchase the T-80 from Ukraine, prompted India to order 310 T-90s, an upgraded version of the T-72, in 2001.

 

[RPK]

BEL implements major shift in R&D policy

: Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), a Bangalore-based defense PSU, is in the process of implementing a major shift in its R&D policy .Talking to FE, BEL’s R&D director IV Sarma said the company’s R&D workforce will increase to 1,700 employees in the next two-three years from the current 1,400 as the company has taken up several steps to restructure the department. The R&D spend will also increase to Rs 600 crore-Rs 700 crore in the next two-three years when the company is expected to fetch revenue in the range of Rs 7,000 crore to Rs 8,000 crore. In the last fiscal, the company’s R&D investment stood at Rs 250 crore when the company witnessed a turnover of Rs 4,618 crore.

The objective is to deliver new products with innovative technologies on par with international standards and enhance indigenous levels, he said. “Already we have taken decision at board level to implement changes in R&D policy,” he added.

Earlier the company was developing products based on the specifications provided by its clients (primarily army & air force), he said while adding, “Our R&D programmes were based on the already defined specifications by our clients. In this case, by the time the product was rolled out after 4-5 years of development cycle, it was slightly behind the technology compared to international standards.”

Hence the company has decided to develop projects proactively with innovative technologies and bring out new products. “The specification of our new products will become the specification for army and air force and gap between our standards and international ones will be bridged,” he added.

Currently, 55% of products in value are being made out of in-house technology while 20-25% products are based on technology by DRDO and ISRO followed by 20-25% through foreign collaborations. With a change in R&D policy, he said the products with ingenious technology will be increased up to 75% in the next two-three year from the current 55-60%.

Recently, the company hired 30 engineers, most of them from IITs, for its Central Research Laboratory units in Bangalore and New Delhi. In addition, the company has also hired 35 experienced software engineers for its R&D team spread across its 17 manufacturing locations.

The company has also started investing in the programmes of DRDO. “Earlier we use to further develop and manufacture the products that were already developed by DRDO. Now the company is getting associated with DRDO at development stage of the products by pumping in money to the tune of 20-30% of the project cost. It will make the project development cycle faster and the company can own the project,” he added.

 

[RPK]

india to develop a micro submarine

In an effort to strengthen its underwater attack capabilities the Indian Navy is in talks with the Naval Science and Technical Laboratory, Visakhapatnam, to build a micro-submarine for its strategic operations.The NSTL scientists have put the preliminary design of a vessel on their drawing board. Sources told Express that the micro-submarine will have a carrying capacity of six persons. It will have the endurance of a normal submarine.“All major navies have a fleet of small submarines. They are used for reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. The same boats are also used for special operations like closeto- shore commando strikes,” sources said.The Indian Navy has asked NSTL scientists to come up with a model similar to the ones used by advanced forces. “A manned microsubmarine has gained strategic relevance in this era of surgical strikes. It won’t leave loud signatures that can be heard by enemy sonar or other monitoring mechanisms,” sources said.The project will be a totally indigenous effort. The Defence Ministry wants this to be showcased as a public-private initiative. “We will rope in builders or firms that will play a role in fabricating its parts from the beginning. There are a few names like L&T and Tata who have evinced interest in playing a bigger role in the defence industry,” sources said.The NSTL is expected to finish the design by 2010. The hope is to carry out the first trials by 2015. In another development, the Navy successfully carried out two live trials of super torpedo Varunastra. This torpedo weighs twice as much as the conventional one and has a longer range.“The two test firings were on target.Varunastra can accurately kill a big ship anywhere in a radius of 10 km. This being a big weapon, one torpedo can effectively take out a potential threat,” sources said adding that the Navy has asked for 100 weapons which will be delivered by the year end.