Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday that India is working on the details of indigenous aero engine production to give a boost to its airspace and achieve self-sufficiency. Speaking at a seminar at Aero India, he said the time has come to ensure Indian aircraft fly with indigenously developed engines and stressed the need to design and develop critical weapons systems within the country.
Separately, the Minister of Defense, in interaction with senior officials of several foreign defense ministries, called for the establishment of manufacturing facilities in India to design various military equipment and platforms for the world.
Noting that India offers significant advantages of competitive land costs, skilled human capital, a healthy startup ecosystem and a large domestic defense market, defense manufacturing companies from around the world can be part of India’s growth story, he said.
Make in India
In another event, Singh called for a concerted effort to develop India as a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hub for various aircraft. Aero India, Asia’s largest aerospace company, aims to showcase indigenous equipment and technology in India and work with foreign companies in line with the government’s vision of ‘Make in India, Create the World’.
“The Ministry of Defense is working on the details of indigenous jet engine production,” Singh said at the seminar.
He said the focus should be on the design of indigenous weapons and the development of the required weapons systems using indigenous technologies such as artificial intelligence, drones, stealth, hypersonics and quantum computing.
DRDO progress
Singh expressed confidence that the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) could soon make rapid progress in this area and contribute to its success, including the Prithvi, Akash and Agni missiles.
He praised DRDO for consistently pioneering in defense and aerospace by developing various munitions, weapons, radar and missile systems. Singh described the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas as a game changer for the aerospace industry.
He says “A very capable aerial platform, the LCA Tejas speaks for itself in terms of quality, excellence in aviation safety. Based on its success, the government has now approved the LCA-Mk II for the Indian Air Force, and the twin-engine Axial-Based Fighter for the Indian Navy, we have started to advance in the design and production of advanced medium combat aircraft in the form of stealth aircraft of the fifth generation. That is water, land or sky, DRDO is always at the forefront of strengthening the security infrastructure”.
Singh said that “DRDO is not the only service provider for defense research and development, It is now a facilitator for in-house industrial research, start-ups and private laboratories. There is a need to take advantage of this synergy”.
Singh urged DRDO to identify short-term, medium-term and long-term goals and efforts to build disruptive, cutting-edge or frontier technologies.
“As we move forward to become one of the most powerful countries in the world, we need strong support for the next generation of armed forces that can face new challenges.”
In the seminar on ‘Sustainability and reducing obsolescence in MRO’, Singh listed various initiatives to ensure independence in the IAF’s weapon system with Akash, LCA Tejas, long-range air-to-air missiles and light combat helicopters ‘Prachand’ as some examples.
He also informed that 160 Prachand helicopters will be in the armed forces in future. Singh expressed confidence that these steps would help reduce the external dependence of the armed forces.
