News Analysis India

Tag: Defence Research and Development Organisation

  • Abhyas UAV demonstrates high subsonic speed trajectory at very low altitude

    By Express News Service

    BHUBANESWAR: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted the flight test of indigenously developed High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) Abhyas from Integrated Test Range (ITR) off Odisha coast on Thursday.

    Defence sources said the unmanned aerial vehicle demonstrated high subsonic speed trajectory at a very low altitude with high endurance during the flight trial.

    Two boosters provided initial acceleration during launch and a small turbo jet engine used to sustain high subsonic speed with long endurance was validated.

    The indigenous data link designed by Bengaluru based industry partner was tested successfully during the flight.

    The performance of the system during the entire flight duration has been confirmed from the data captured by various range instruments deployed.

    Bengaluru based Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) along with other DRDO laboratories has developed the pilotless target system to meet the requirement of aerial targets of Indian Armed Forces.

    The aircraft is controlled from a ground based controller and an indigenously developed Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) based inertial navigation system along with the flight control computer, which helps it to follow the pre-designated path in a fully autonomous mode.

    Abhyas can be launched from a mobile launcher using two 68-mm boosters that are separated after the initial burnout. A small gas turbine powers the aerial vehicle to fly during the cruise phase. It is expected to supplement pilotless target aircraft Lakshya-I and Lakshya-II, already inducted in the armed forces.

    Having a length of 2,385 mm and diameter of 180 mm, the drone weighs around 75 kg.

    With a speed of Mach 0.5, it can attain an altitude of more than 5 km. The check out of the air vehicle is done using laptop-based ground control station.

    Secretary Department of Defence (R&D) and DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy complimented scientists of the laboratories, their team members and associated industry partners for the successful development efforts.

    Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO said the successful test is noteworthy testimony of synergy between scientists and industry.

  • DRDO develops advanced chaff technology to safeguard IAF’s fighter jets

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an advanced chaff technology, which is used to distract enemy’s radar-guided missiles, to safeguard Indian Air Force fighter jets from enemy missiles.

    The IAF has started the process of induction of this technology after the completion of successful trials, a DRDO statement said Thursday.

    Two DRDO laboratories developed the “advanced chaff material and chaff cartridge – 118/I” and it has met the qualitative requirements of the IAF, the statement mentioned.

    “The importance of this (advanced chaff) technology lies in the fact that very less quantity of chaff material deployed in the air acts as decoy to deflect enemy’s missiles for ensuring safety of the fighter aircraft,” it stated.

    The technology has been given to the industry for production in large quantities to meet the annual rolling requirement of the IAF, it noted.

    Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Thursday lauded the DRDO, the IAF and the industry for indigenous development of this critical technology, terming it one more DRDO step towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in the strategic defence technologies, the statement mentioned.

  • DRDO to set up 500 Medical Oxygen Plants within 3 months under PM CARES fund

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI: In a bid to fulfill the oxygen need of Covid patients, the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) has decided to set up 500 Medical Oxygen Plants (MOPs) across India within three months. These plants will be installed under the PM CARES fund.

    Bharat Bhushan Babu, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence, said: “The DRDO has initiated fabrication of 380 numbers of Medical Oxygen Plants (MOPs) with the release of Supply Orders for 332 numbers on M/s Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Bengaluru and 48 numbers on M/s Trident Pneumatics Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore with a target of producing 125 plants per month.”

    It is expected that 500 Medical Oxygen Plants will be installed within three months. Each such plant can cater to 190 patients at a flow rate of 5 LPM and charge 195 cylinders per day. The oxygen plant is designed for a capacity of 1,000 litres per minute (LPM).

    Medical Oxygen Plant (MOP) technology is capable of generating oxygen with 93±3% concentration which can be directly supplied to hospital beds or can be used to fill medical oxygen cylinders. It utilizes the Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technique and Molecular Sieve (Zeolite) technology to generate oxygen directly from atmospheric air.

    ALSO READ | Double masking or N95 mask must to keep mutant variants at bay The technology was developed by the Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory of DRDO for On‐Board Oxygen Generation for Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas. The technology has been transferred to M/s Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Bengaluru, and M/s Trident Pneumatics Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore, who will be producing 380 plants for installation across various hospitals in the country. The other 120 plants of 500 LPM capacity will be produced by industries working with the Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun, belonging to CSIR.

    With such plants on sites, medical oxygen will be available in hospitals in urban and rural areas, especially at high altitudes and inaccessible remote areas, in a cost-effective manner.

    MOP has already been installed at some of the Army sites in the North East and Leh-Ladakh region. The plant complies with International Standards like ISO 1008, European, US, and Indian Pharmacopeia. Site preparation for 5 plants to be installed in Delhi/NCR region has already been initiated.

    Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has appreciated DRDO for using the MOP technology to generate much-needed oxygen for Covid patients which will help in overcoming the present crisis.

  • Rajnath directs defence departments to help states in pandemic handling

    By Express News Service
    NEW DELHI:  Amidst the rising number of Covid-19 cases across the country, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a virtual meeting on Tuesday to review the preparedness of Ministry of Defence and the armed forces.

    The defence minister has also advised the army establishments to aid state governments in dealing with the pandemic.

    Rajnath Singh was briefed about the measures taken by Armed Forces Medical Service (AFMS), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) and other departments of the Ministry of Defence such as National Cadet Corps (NCC) in providing aid to the civil administration.

    Meanwhile, Army Chief General MM Naravane issued instructions to the army establishments in various states to assist the states in dealing with the pandemic.

    At a virtual meeting with top defence brass, Singh also announced granting emergency financial powers to the three services and other defence agencies to make necessary procurement to enhance medical infrastructure in view of the pandemic, officials said.

    They said the three forces and other agencies have been asked to identify their requirement to deal with the situation and told that approvals will be given for the procurement.

    The meeting was attended by Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh, Chief of Army Staff Gen M M Naravane, Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) Surgeon Vice Admiral Rajat Datta and DRDO Chairman G Satheesh Reddy.

    Following an earlier communication between Singh and Gen Naravane, it was decided that the Army would offer treatment to civilians in its medical facilities, wherever possible and the force would even get in touch with top leadership of the states to understand their requirements.

    Officials said the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has already shared with private industry its oxygen generation technology that was developed for use on board Light Combat Aircraft Tejas.

    India has witnessed a massive spike in coronavirus infections with the country recording over two lakh COVID-19 cases daily in the last five days.

    In view of rapid surge in infections, India is facing an acute shortage of hospital beds, oxygen, essential drugs.

    “Singh was also informed that based on the on-board oxygen generation technology developed for LCA Tejas, a 1000 litre/minute capacity oxygen generation plants technology has been given to the industry,” the defence ministry said.

    It said the Uttar Pradesh government has already placed order of five such plants with the industry.

    The ministry said DRDO chairman Reddy said in the meeting that more oxygen producing plants can be supplied by the industry to cater to the requirements of the hospitals treating COVID-19 patients.

    He further said that SpO2 (blood oxygen saturation) based supplemental oxygen delivery system developed for soldiers posted at extreme high-altitude areas can be used for COVID patients.

    “The product, he said, will be available soon in the market from the industry as per technology provided by DRDO,” the ministry said in a statement.

    The ministry said Singh asked the armed forces to be in close contact with the civil administrations across the country and to provide any required assistance.

    Following a separate review of the coronavirus situation by the defence secretary, the ministry instructed 67 hospitals run by cantonment boards across the country to ensure medical services to cantonment residents as well as those from outside.

    Giving details about Singh’s meeting, the ministry said work is going on to set up a 450-bed hospital in Lucknow, 750-bed hospital in Varanasi and 900-bed hospital in Ahmedabad.

    In the meeting, the defence minister also discussed ways to contain the spread of COVID-19 among the Armed forces personnel and the officers and staff working in ministry.

    He focused on COVID appropriate behaviour at the workplace, stressing on the need to strictly follow all the COVID protocols such as wearing masks at all times and maintaining physical distancing.

    The Indian Army on Tuesday said it is converting its base hospital in Delhi to an exclusive COVID-19 facility for armed forces personnel as well as veterans.

    This facility will be available for COVID-19 patients from Thursday, it said on Twitter.

    The Army said on Twitter, “Base Hospital Delhi Cantt BHDC is being converted into an exclusive COVID-19 facility for Indian armed forces and veterans with effect from April 22, 2021.”

    “All OPDs (out patient department) will shift and function at Army Hospital Research and Referral (AHRR) with effect from April 22,” it added.

    Moreover, the Army said an online tri-service teleconsultation service called “SeHAT OPD” is functional right now for veterans, armed forces personnel as well as their dependents.

    “For ailments and prescriptions for continuation of medications log in to http:ehatopd.in,” it added.

    India’s total tally of COVID-19 cases climbed to 1,53,21,089 with 2,59,170 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, while active cases surpassed the 20-lakh mark, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Tuesday.

    The death toll increased to 1,80,530 with a record 1,761 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • DRDO successfully proves land-based prototype of AIP system

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday congratulated the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) after it successfully proved the land-based prototype of the Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system.

    “Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO, Indian Navy and the Industry for this significant achievement,” tweeted the official handle of Raksha Mantri.

    “DRDO successfully proved the land-based prototype of the Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system on March 8. The plant was operated in endurance mode and max power mode as per the user requirements. AIP system is being developed by Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL) DRDO,” tweeted DRDO.

    “AIP has a force multiplier effect on the lethality of a diesel-electric submarine as it enhances the submerged endurance of the boat, several folds. Fuel cell-based AIP has merits in performance compared to other technologies,” informed DRDO.  

  • DRDO continuously developing technology for new India, says Rajnath Singh

    By ANI
    BENGALURU: Asserting that India has to focus on new goals for new India, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday said the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is continuously developing technology that will help the country in achieving these goals.

    “Today, when the world is changing so fast and a new world order is emerging in front of us. We have to focus on new goals for our new India, I am happy to see that the DRDO is continuously developing technology that will help us in achieving these goals,” Singh said in Bengaluru at Aero India 2021.

    “It is in pursuit of these goals that we had many successful trials recently like Akash NG Missile, Anti-Radiation Missile-RUDRAM and MRSAM. In many of our tests, we have got success in our maiden attempt itself, this is our great achievement,” he added.

    Commenting on the recent decision of induction of 83 TEJAS into Indian Air Force (IAF) by the government and the successes of indigenously developed systems like bombs, radars sonar, communication systems and armaments, he said the induction reflects the role of DRDO towards self-reliant India. “I have come to know that last year, 225 Licenses Agreements were signed by DRDO with industry. This shows the industries’ trust in homegrown technologies developed by DRDO,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was also displayed at the event in coastal defence role. Indian Navy is going to induct the missile as part of the Next Generation Maritime Marine Coastal Defence battery role.

    “We have already demonstrated the underwater launch capability of the BrahMos missile. Whenever the Indian Navy makes submarines indigenously, I am 100 per cent sure that the BrahMos submarine-launched version would be equipped on it,” BrahMos DG Sudhir Mishra told ANI.

    American B-1B Lancer aircraft also took part in the show. The aircraft flew from an American airbase in South Dakota, United States for over 26 hours to reach the city.

    Moreover, Singh was briefed by a Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) official about the VIP version of an indigenous chopper at the show.