Nation

Indigenous manufacturing of aero-engines need of hour

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a seminar of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on ‘Indigenous Development of Futuristic Aerospace Technologies including Way Forward for Development of Indigenous Aero Engines’ on February 14.

Addressing the seminar, the Union Minister said that DRDO has played an important role in continuously strengthening in defence and aerospace sectors. He further added that through its research and innovations, it has contributed significantly in strengthening national security.

During the seminar, the Raksha Mantri presented Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Satish Namdeo Ghormade with the Health Usage & Monitoring System for MIG29K developed by the Technology Development Fund (TDF). Under the TDF scheme, the DRDO, in collaboration with Smart Machines and Structures, Hyderabad, created an indigenous Health Usage Monitoring System for the MiG29K. This solution employs machine learning and data analytics on Flight Data Recorder data to assist the Indian Navy in improving aircraft serviceability by detecting failure before it occurs.

Additionally, the Defence Minister inaugurated the www.samar.gov.in AR&DB web platform (System for Advance Manufacturing Assessment & Rating). SAMAR serves as the standard by which defence manufacturing companies are evaluated for their competence.

With the goal of integrating numerous stakeholders in the country’s defence R&D ecosystem, DRDO is displaying a wide range of indigenously-developed products and technologies at the Aero India Show 2023. Highlighting the significance of locally manufactured defence products, Union Minister Rajnath Singh said that India needs to focus on the indigenous design and development of essential weapon systems, using niche technologies like Artificial Intelligence, drones, stealth, hypersonic, and quantum computing.

By agreeing to the licencing agreement for the Transfer of Technology (ToT) of crucial systems, the DRDO has provided industries with the most recent defence technologies. For the transfer of 12 technology created by 10 DRDO laboratories, it gave 18 ToT agreements to 18 Indian Industries. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh affirmed that India is moving forward with the aspiration of making itself completely self-reliant and giving something to the world. He also stressed making significant efforts in the progress of our defence R&D.

The Defence Minister also highlighted DRDO’s achievement in becoming one of the strongest pillars in strengthening National Security, through design and development ranging from Ammunition to Guns, Radar systems, and Missiles. He said that many countries are now importing defence equipment from India, while many more countries are in the process of acquiring the Indian Weapon System.

In the last few years, the country has developed state-of-the-art platforms and weapon systems like TAPAS, AEW&C, Medium Range Artillery Gun, Helicopters, and Radar, along with LCA Tejas aircraft which is proving to be a game changer in the aerospace industry.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that in today’s time, the aerospace sector in India is at an important stage, and it is the need of the hour to give it a new direction. He stressed that while making steady progress towards becoming a global superpower, India should have strong support of next-level defence forces, capable of facing any new challenge.

“How long will we keep flying with other’s engine? How long will we keep saying that ‘our effort is on’? Our target should be that by developing Aero-Engine, we not only write a new book of ‘General Knowledge’ but also write a new history of the country with our effort,” Union Minister Rajnath Singh said in his address.

 

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