Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) : News and Updates

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
It was formed in 1958 by the merger of Technical Development Establishment and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production with the Defence Science Organisation.

DRDO has a network of 52 laboratories which are deeply engaged in developing defence technologies covering various fields, like aeronautics, armaments, electronic and computer sciences, human resource development, life sciences, materials, missiles, combat vehicles development and naval research and development. The organization includes more than 5,000 scientists and about 25,000 other scientific, technical and supporting personnel.

In 2009, The P Rama Rao committee, which was formed to revamp the organisation, has said that the major cause for delays and failures of indigenous defence products is DRDO’s tendency to over-estimate its capabilities. The inability of the research body to involve the Armed Forces in developmental projects from the start has been identified as a major area of concern.

The committee recommended to the government that DRDO should undertake all projects in the future on a joint developmental basis and involve foreign partners to imbibe global standards. DRDO’s tendency of overstretching itself to reinvent the wheel has also been noted and the committee has said that foreign help should be taken “without any reservationsâ€￾ in future projects.

Below is the list of Developments Success and Fails of the DRDO
I leave it to you to decide, if you like or dislike the DRDO !!!

 

Project Indigo

Project Indigo was started by India in 1962.
An agreement was signed between India and Switzerland to
develop an intermediate-range surface-to-air missile (SAM).
Indigo was discontinued in later years without achieving full success.
Project Indigo led to Project Devil, to develop short-range
Surface-to-air missile in the 1970s.
Project Devil itself led to the later development of the Prithvi missile in the 1980s.

 

Project Devil

Project Devil was one of two early liquid-fueled missile projects developed by India,
along with Project Valiant, in the 1970s.
The goal of Project Devil was to produce a short-range surface-to-air missile.
Although discontinued in 1980 without achieving full success, Project Devil,
led to the later development of the Prithvi missile in the 1980s.

 

Prithvi (missile)



The Government of India launched the Integrated Guided Missile
Development Program in 1983 to achieve self sufficiency in the
development and production of wide range of Ballistic Missiles, Surface to Air Missiles etc.

Prithvi was the first missile to be developed under the Program.
DRDO attempted to build Surface-to-air Missile under Project Devil.

Variants make use of either liquid or both liquid and solid fuels.
Developed as a battlefield missile, it could carry a nuclear
warhead in its role as a tactical nuclear weapon.

 

Agni (missile)



The Agni missile is a family of Medium to Intercontinental range
ballistic missiles developed by India under the Integrated Guided
Missile Development Program. As of 2008, the Agni missile family
comprises three deployed variants

Agni-I Medium range ballistic missile, 700 – 1200 km range.

Agni-II intermediate range ballistic missile, 2,000- 2,500 km range.

Agni-II Prime 2,500- 3,000 km range.

Agni-III intermediate range ballistic missile, 3,000 - 5,500 km range.

There will not be an Agni-IV missile,
with DRDO leapfrogging from intermediate range Agni-III to a standard ICBM possibly.

Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile, 5,000 km range (under development).

Agni-VI intercontinental ballistic missile, 10,000 km range (under development).

 

Akash (missile)



Akash is India's medium range surface-to-air missile defense
system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
and Bharat Electronics Limited(BEL) as part of the Integrated Guided
Missile Development Program. The missile can target aircraft up to 30 km away,
at altitudes up to 18,000 m. Akash can be fired from both tracked and wheeled platforms.
Akash is said to be capable of both conventional and nuclear warheads,
with a reported payload of 60 kg. A nuclear warhead could potentially give
the missile the capability to destroy both aircraft and warheads from ballistic missiles.
The missile battery is described as being able to track and attack several targets simultaneously.

 

Nag (missile)



Nag is a Fourth generation "Fire-and-forget" anti-tank missile developed in India.
It is one of five missile systems developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP).
Nag has been developed at a cost of INR300 crore (US$66.9 million).

As originally conceived, the Nag would have been available with three different types of guidance,
These included a wire guided version, an infra-red version and a millimetric wave (mmW) version.
DRDO failed to develop a wire guidance system had this led to plans for this being dropped.
Currently, guidance is based on an imaging infra-red (IIR) passive seeker that ensures
a high-hit accuracy in both top- and front-attack modes.

The mmW seeker, on the other hand, is intended to operate as an optional
system that can replace the IIR passive seeker as a module. Also incorporated
into the guidance system, is a CCD camera. The advantage of this optical
seeker is that it is less prone to jamming. The missile has a weight of 42 kg
and can engage targets at ranges 4–5 km. The Nag is claimed to be first
anti-tank missile which has a complete fiberglass structure.

 

Trishul missile

Trishul is the name of a short range surface-to-air missile
developed by India as a part of the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program.
It has a range of 9 km and is fitted with a 5.5 kg warhead. Designed to be used
against low-level (sea skimming) targets at short range, the system has been
developed to defend naval vessels against missiles and also as a short range
surface to air missile on land. Guidance consists of three different guiding beams,
with the guidance handed over progressively to a narrower beam as the missile approaches the target.

According to reports, the range of the missile is 12 km and is fitted with a
15 kg warhead. The weight of the missile is 130 kg. The length of the missile is 3.1 m.
Development costs of the missile touched almost US$70 million to the taxpayers.

India has officially shut down Trishul Missile project on February 27, 2008.
The programme of surface-to-air Trishul missile, one of the five missiles being
developed by Defense Research and Development Organization, has been shelved.
Defence Minister George Fernandes indicated this in Rajya Sabha
(upper house of parliament), when he said the Trishul missile had been
de-linked from user service, though it would be continued as a technology demonstrator.

 

Dhanush Missile

Dhanush is a ship-launched variant of the Prithvi missile.
The first test for the missile was conducted from a modified
offshore patrol vessel INS Subhadra (P51) on 11 April 2000, which was unsuccessful.
Further tests of the missile were successfully conducted between 2000 and 2004.
In December 2005, the missile was test fired from the destroyer INS Rajput (D51)
with a range of 150 km. An enhanced version with a range of 350 km
was successfully test fired from INS Subhadra in December 2009.

 

Sagarika (missile)

K-15 Sagarika is a nuclear-capable submarine launched ballistic missile with a range of 700 kms.
Sagarika is a two-stage surface-to-surface missile for launch from submarines.
The first stage is an underwater booster that powers the missile to 5 km above
the surface of the ocean. A second solid-fueled stage with a 16 metric ton force
(157 kN) thrust motor then propels the missile over 700 km.

 

Shaurya (missile)



The Shaurya missile is a canister launched Hypersonic surface-to-surface
tactical missile developed by the Indian Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO)
for use by the Indian Armed Forces. It has a range of between 750 to 1900 km
and is capable of carrying a payload of one ton conventional or nuclear warhead.
It gives the potential to strike in the short-intermediate range against any adversary.
The Shaurya missile provides India with a significant second strike capability.

 

HAL Tejas



Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace
India's ageing MiG-21 fighters. Later the LCA was officially named "Tejas"

The Tejas has the delta wing configuration, with no tailplanes or foreplanes,
and features a single vertical fin. It integrates technologies such as relaxed
static stability, fly-by-wire flight control system, advanced digital cockpit,
multi-mode radar, integrated digital avionics system, advanced composite
material structures and a flat rated engine.

The IAF is reported to have a requirement for 200 single-seat and 20
two-seat conversion trainers, while the Indian Navy may order up to 40
single-seaters to replace its Sea Harrier FRS.51 and Harrier T.60.
During its sea level flight trials off Goa, Tejas achieved a speed of over
1,350 km per hour, thus becoming the second supersonic fighter
manufactured indigenously by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited after the HAL Marut.
The Tejas was cleared in January 2011 for use by Indian Air Force pilots.

Tejas Mark 2 - Featuring more powerful General Electric F414-GE-INS6
engine with 120 kN of thrust and refined aerodynamics. The Mark 2 is
being developed to meet the Indian Air Staff requirements and will
incorporate 5th generation fighter elements which are intended to
make way into FGFA and AMCA later

 

Pinaka Multi Barrel Rocket Launcher



Pinaka is a multiple rocket launcher produced in India and developed by
the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the Indian Army.
The system has a maximum range of 39–40 km and can fire a salvo of 12
HE rockets in 44 seconds, neutralizing a target area of 3.9 km2.
The system is mounted on a Tatra truck for mobility.

Pinaka is the name of the bow of Shiva.

Pinaka saw service during the Kargil War, where it was successful in
neutralizing enemy positions on the mountain tops.
It has since been inducted into the Indian Army in large numbers.

 

Arjun (tank)



The Arjun is a third generation main battle tank developed by
Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), for the Indian Army.
The tank is named for Arjun, a character in the Indian epic, Mahabharata.

The Arjun features a 120 mm main rifled gun with indigenously developed
APFSDS ammunition, one 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, and a 12.7 mm machine gun.
It is powered by a single MTU multi-fuel diesel engine rated at 1,400 hp,
and can achieve a maximum speed of 70 km/h (43 mph) and a cross-country
speed of 40 km/h (25 mph). It has a four-man crew: commander, gunner,
loader and driver. Automatic fire detection and suppression, and NBC protection
systems are included. All-round anti-tank warhead protection by the newly
developed Kanchan armour is claimed to be much higher than available in
comparable third generation tanks.

In March 2010, the Arjun was pitted against the T-90 in comparative trials
and performed well. Subsequently delays and other problems in its development
from the 1990s to the 2000s prompted the Indian Army to order vast numbers
of T-90S tanks from Russia to meet requirements that the Arjun had been expected to fulfill.

Army placed an order for an additional 124 tanks on May 17, 2010
and 124 Arjun Mk-II Tanks on August 9 2010.

The Arjun entered service with the Indian Army on 12 March 2011.
The tanks were first inducted into the 75th Armoured Regiment in Jaisalmer,
replacing T-55 tanks

 

BrahMos Missile



BrahMos is a stealth supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from submarines,
ships, aircraft or land. It is a joint venture between Republic of India's Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russian Federation's
NPO Mashinostroeyenia who have together formed BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited.
It is the world's fastest cruise missile in operation.

The name BrahMos is a portmanteau formed from the names of two rivers,
the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia. The missile travels at
speeds of Mach 2.8 to 3.0.[1] It is about three-and-a-half times faster than the
USA's subsonic Harpoon cruise missile. An Air launched variant is also planned
which is expected to come out in 2012 and will make India the only country
with supersonic missiles in all the defence forces. A hypersonic version of the
missile is also presently under development with speed of Mach 7 to boost
aerial fast strike capability. It is expected to be ready by 2016.