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‘Can’t fight tomorrow’s war with yesterday’s weapons, incorporate AI’: DG Artillery

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Several scientists from the Armament Cluster of the DRDO, representatives of the industry and students are attending the conference in Armament Technology in Pashan, Pune.

Written by Sushant Kulkarni | Pune | June 9, 2018 – The Indian Express

ARDE Director K M Rajan and Lt Gen P K Srivastava.

“Tomorrow’s wars can’t be fought with yesterday’s technology,” said Lieutenant General P K Srivastava, Director General of the Artillery of the Indian Army, and urged the Armament scientists of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to delve more into Artificial Intelligence for future warfare.

Lt Gen Srivastava, who is also the Colonel Commandant of Regiment of Artillery of the Indian Army, was speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the two-day National Conference on Advances in Armament Technology (NCAAT 2018), which has been organised at Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), a DRDO laboratory located at Pashan in Pune.

Several scientists from the Armament Cluster of the DRDO, representatives of the industry and students are attending the conference.

“There is a need for us come out of the concepts on which we are fixated… the world is changing. We live in one of the worst neighbourhoods. If we have to become a power of reckoning, we will have to possess a weapons systems of the future. We can’t be fighting tomorrow’s war with weapons from yesterday. Right now, we are building weapons of yesterday, with more and more efficiency. To build weapons of tomorrow, we need scientists, who know warfare, and we need soldiers who understand technology.”

He added, “Whatever weapon systems we are developing, we should embed artificial intelligence. If that happens, we could look at missiles that are completely automated. We need weapon systems which are intelligent and less and less manpower intensive. I also expect the Armament Cluster of the DRDO to not just develop weapon systems but also come up with ideas for the next generation of warfare. India’s strengths have been software, computers, artificial intelligence and robotics, and we need to further incorporate these into our weapons systems. Our engineers and scientists are working all over the world. We need to utilise our human resources to change the paradigm of the warfare in the subcontinent.”

Responding to Gen Srivastava’s speech, senior DRDO scientist P K Mehta, who heads the Armament Cluster of the DRDO, said after the inaugural ceremony, “There are already some ongoing projects in Artificial Intelligence and unmanned systems. Some laboratories have started incorporating them in the existing products. But it needs to be pointed out that the user, which is the armed forces, does not have a line directorate for the induction of the Artificial Intelligence and unmanned systems. We should have a long term roadmap in the area, which is not there right now. The country, as a whole, needs to have a roadmap for that. The DRDO can certainly help in forming that.”

K M Rajan, director of ARDE, said, “The process of incorporating AI systems into Armament has started at the basic level. We hope to do it more in the future.”

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Interceptor missile tested 7 times, DRDO’s Rajinikanth moment still far

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The system would be able to tackle incoming ballistic missiles of range up to 2,000 km
Written by Sushant Singh | New Delhi | Updated: May 4, 2015 3:20 am

A Ballistic Missile Defence system is based on an interceptor missile shooting down an enemy missile mid-air. It needs ground radars, command-and-control systems and data links. India’s BMD does not yet have geo-stationary satellites.
A Ballistic Missile Defence system is based on an interceptor missile shooting down an enemy missile mid-air. It needs ground radars, command-and-control systems and data links. India’s BMD does not yet have geo-stationary satellites.

The proposed Ballistic Missile Defence system is supposed to blow enemy n-missiles out of the sky as they fly towards Delhi. But last month’s test failed, and many questions remain unanswered.
DRDO’s promises and seven tests notwithstanding, the plan to put a nuclear missile defence shield over Delhi remains a work in progress.
The unsuccessful test of an interceptor missile last month swung the spotlight back on the proposed Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) system. Think of Rajinikanth firing a bullet to destroy the bullet fired by the villain in mid-air. That’s what a BMD system does: it provides a city with a protective shield where an incoming enemy ballistic missile is shot down by interceptor missiles.
ballistic-missile-graphBesides the interceptors, a BMD consists of radars — satellite-, ground-, and sea-based — to detect and track a missile and its warhead, data communication links to pass on the information, and a command and control system.
DRDO first spoke of a BMD system in December 2007. All building blocks for Phase 1 of a two-layered, fully integrated system were to be in place by 2010. In March 2010, Dr V K Saraswat of DRDO promised initial systems deployment by 2013.
On May 7, 2012, DRDO declared it had developed a Missile Defence Shield that could be put in place at short notice at two selected locations in the country, presumably Delhi and Mumbai. The system would be able to tackle incoming ballistic missiles of range up to 2,000 km. DRDO also said that long-range tracking radars, real-time data-link and mission control systems needed for the perationalisation of the BMD had been “realised”.
The fact is the BMD system is at the moment not even close to being put into operation. Last month’s unsuccessful test at the Chandipur range was the seventh time the BMD interceptor missile has been tested. It was its second failed test, although the first failure was not of an interceptor, but due to a faulty target missile.
Washington-based emerging and space technologies expert Dr Bharath Gopalaswamy said, “Interceptor technologies are test-intensive and never foolproof. We have to wait until DRDO releases the data for these tests — which I suspect they never will — but for the moment, I would contextualise this as part of a routine test phase.”
A senior DRDO official told The Indian Express that they hoped to conduct another test within a couple of months. “It is part of the development process. This was the first time we launched the interceptor missile from a canister. The target was also a more difficult one than the simulated Prithvi missiles used earlier,” the DRDO official said.
According to Gopalaswamy, this is something to be expected with hit-to-kill technologies. “Dr Saraswat (former DRDO chief) declared missile defence capabilities as operational but the failure in such tests exposes the vulnerabilities in the system,” he said.
MILES TO GO
According to Air Marshal (retd) M Matheswaran, “a development trial by DRDO will not result in an operational system so soon. We can only expect to get a technology demonstrator at the end of the ongoing tests. Even the US took three decades to produce a BMD system. A fully mature BMD system is at least a decade away. The political leadership must be made aware of this reality”.
The BMD system was proposed to India’s political leadership by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in the mid-1990s, a former cabinet secretary told The Indian Express. It was triggered by Pakistan’s acquisition of M-11 missiles from China. The proposal was to provide cover for Delhi, Mumbai and two other strategically important sites. DRDO is believed to have started work on the programme in 1999.
The armed forces were brought into the loop only a decade later, a senior Indian Air Force officer told The Indian Express. A BMD system cannot be operated in isolation; it has to be networked with existing IAF sensors for better situational awareness to avoid friendly fire, or shooting down of own aircraft or missiles. IAF already has a fully integrated air defence system, and the complexities of deployment will have to be resolved as and when the BMD is put into operation.
“There is no direct involvement of the armed forces in its development even now. The IAF, which is the end user, must be closely involved,” Matheswaran said.
DO WE NEED IT?
Many experts argue that the BMD can take on only a limited number of incoming missiles, and will invite saturation salvos from the enemy. Western non-proliferation activists have said India’s BMD will encourage Pakistan to expand its nuclear arsenal to fire multiple missiles. Bharat Karnad of the Centre for Policy Research said BMD was a “hit-and-miss” system whose reliability has been questioned by various US studies.
Last year, the US General Accountability Office questioned the reliability and efficacy of the Pentagon’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) programme, a system similar to India’s BMD. The Pentagon accepted that the GMD system provides “a limited capability against a simple threat”. Senator Tom Coburn’s report last year estimated the GMD system’s success rate at 30 per cent. DRDO has, on the other hand, promised 99.8 per cent reliability for its BMD system.
Unlike the GMD, BMD does not have early warning radars or satellite tracking of an enemy missile. The delayed detection capability reduces the time available for interception of, say, a Pakistani missile to around five minutes. Also, the BMD system can only intercept missiles launched from 900-1,000 km away; the Chinese Dong Feng-21 ballistic missile with a range of 1,700-2,000 km cannot be intercepted.
The BMD is expensive. Ballpark estimates for defending one Indian city vary from Rs 1 lakh crore to Rs 2.5 lakh crore. At the higher range, it is more than India’s annual defence budget. The US continental system is estimated to have cost more than $ 100 billion so far, the GMD system $ 41 billion.
“A system that doesn’t work, costs a lot, and can’t handle multiple attacks will breed a false sense of security and compound our problems. All this talk of deployability of a BMD is premature. What we need at best is a technology demonstrator,” Karnad said.
“We have no expert committee like the US JASON to validate projects like the BMD. India has scarce resources. To use them judiciously, a high-level technical committee should validate all strategic projects proposed by DRDO or the armed forces,” he said.
Whatever the case, India’s ‘Rajinikanth’ gun can’t fire yet. As the Americans like to say, “The real problem with ballistic missile defence is that it is rocket science.”

Drdo

Interceptor missile fails; DRDO to conduct another test soon

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Written by: Dr Anantha Krishnan M Published: Monday, April 6, 2015, 22:15 [IST] OneIndia
Bengaluru, April 06: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) faced a setback today after an Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile fell into the sea seconds after its launch. The missile was test-fired from DRDO’s launch facility in Wheeler Island, off the Odisha Coast.

intercepter missile
interceptor missile

DRDO officials, who spoke to OneIndia said that they would be back with another launch of the missile by the end of April after studying what went wrong. “These are part and parcel of every missile trails. We had six successive missions of the interceptor missile. We suspect that one of the sub-systems in the missile might have failed,” a top scientist not wanting to be named, said. He said that Monday’s test was to assess the performance of the composite motor rocket and the missile’s ejection from the canister. “These two parameters have been successfully tested. There was no target today. But one sub-system misbehaved and we are now analyzing some more data,” he added. DRDO says the missile’s basic systems are all intact and worked as per the textbook. “Random problems can occur while dealing with complex systems. We will be back by the end of this month for another launch,” he added. He said that the missile caught fire after falling apart. This was DRDO’s 7th interceptor missile test.

Drdo

Denied seminars abroad, DRDO scientist moves CAT

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Written by Pranav Kulkarni | New Delhi | Published on:April 6, 2015 12:00 am – The Indian Express

A DRDO Scientist has alleged the lab denied him permission to visit other countries to attend conferences and seminars
A DRDO Scientist has alleged the lab denied him permission to visit other countries to attend conferences and seminars

A scientist has moved the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) after his integrity was questioned by the DRDO laboratory where he works.
In his complaint, Gausal Khan, a scientist at the Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Science (DIPAS), Timarpur, has alleged the laboratory denied him permission to visit Japan, China, the Netherlands, and other countries to attend conferences and seminars.
It all started in 2011, when Khan was denied permission to visit Japan. The DIPAS, however, said he did not seek permission in time and despite being denied nod to visit Japan, he went ahead with the trip. The laboratory later filed a complaint with the police.
After working abroad, according to Khan, he in 2010 joined the DIPAS where he was part of the Hematology Group of Research. Khan, a grade ‘D’ scientist, was assigned to submit a project along with two other scientists.
In his petition, Khan said the director of the laboratory, Dr Shashi Bala Singh, denied him permission to visit Japan in February 2011 after he was selected for one “Developing World Scientist” award for the same project.
While Khan alleged the director “kept mum” on issuing him a no-objection certificate till the last date of submission of the project synopsis, the laboratory said Khan did not seek permission for going abroad in time — a claim denied by the scientist.
A chargesheet based on the laboratory’s complaint against Khan was filed in the court in April 2014. It accused Khan of entering into correspondence with “foreign universities/institutions without obtaining prior permission” as required by the government’s policy.
According to the chargesheet, he received USD 1,500 as travel award and represented one “Sinha Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology” at the conference, an allegation denied by Khan.
After the incident, Khan claimed he was denied permission to attend several other seminars and conferences abroad. The DRDO and the Ministry of Defence did not respond to the development when contacted.

 

Drdo

DRDO chief invokes Vedas to explain intel importance

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Written by Vijaita Singh | New Delhi | Posted: December 24, 2014 2:19 am

Indian Express

The country’s scientist and DRDO chief Avinash Chander on Tuesday invoked mythology to explain the importance of intelligence network, days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi cited Karna’s birth in Mahabharata to suggest “genetic science” existed in India even in ancient times.

Chander, the man behind the Agni series missiles, while addressing the Intelligence Bureau sleuths said “information gathering and intelligence have been emphasised even in Vedas and Puranas”, and invoked “Rig Veda and Atharva Veda” to send across his point that intelligence gathering had to be abreast with technology.

NSA Ajit Doval, new IB chief Dineshwar Sharma and outgoing IB chief Syed Asif Ibrahim were present on the dais when the DRDO chief addressed the function.

Delivering the 27th Intelligence Bureau Centenary Endowment Lecture, Chander, who is also the scientific advisor to the Defence Minister, said, “Information gathering and intelligence have been emphasised even in Vedas and Puranas. We find the invocations in Rig Veda and Atharva Veda, where it talks how the spies of Agni came down from the sky with thousands of eyes. The son of Brahaspati, teacher of gods, Kaccha was sent as a spy to Sukracharya to know the Sanjeevani mantra as explained in Mathsyapurana.” His term expired on December 1, but he was retained for two more years by the NDA government to head the post.

Chander, a IIT graduate, said, “In Sabhaparvam of Mahabharata ‘Lokapala Sabhakhayana Parva’ explains the importance of information gathering, establishing the spy network and related instrumentation in connection with the armed forces.”

To make his point, Chander said, “Arthashastra by Kautilya defines it as an integral part of court craft. The first of two chapters on establishing an intelligence system explain five kinds of spies for gathering internal intelligence.”

Comments 

c.r.panicker • 2 hours ago

Bhagavat Gita advises three courses of action (1) Gyana Yoga (2) Karma Yoga and (3) Bhakti Yoga. Before doing something, acquire complete of the situation, then create a fool proof plan of action and act with all resources to tackle the situation. You will then succeed in your operation. In this sense what is wrong in quoting puranas and scriptures. There is nothing which need hurt the sentiments of non-Hindus

RCA • 4 hours ago

Please don’t refer to Vedas as mythology. That was the terminology of the British Raj, which referred to Christian holy book as scripture, but Hindu holy books as mythology (i.e a myth, or something that is not correct). Its time to fix this wrong terminology.

Sai bhargavs • 5 hours ago

its not mythology

SacchaDesi • 11 hours ago

Nowadays everyone has to quote from Vedas to keep their job. DRDO has been among worst performing indian organisation. May be this explains why.

sk • 14 hours ago

Bad mentality of media and psuedo secularists. The top Scientists world over quote Veda/Upanishads/Advaita all the time and they will be quoted much more in coming times as can be seen by new physicists openly adopting yoga/meditation path, like John Hagelin (Harvard/Stanford/CERN trained Quantum Physicist or his senior in that field like Schrodinger, Neils Bohr or even people like Peter Russell), the whole world invokes Veda/Upanishads more than Indians, Indians hardly discuss Upanishads/Advaita, Indians discuss bollywood, hollywood or other such stupid stuff more.

Intelligent people are becoming more and more truthful and so they do not care about saying whatever is truth, Vedas/Upanishads/Advaita/Patanjali/Yoga/Meditation are the firstto give basic truth about reality and consciousness, this recognition will only increase not decrease because it is truth. Also, these people gave these ideas in remarkably humble/detached ways with amazing simplicity so when an intelligent mind reads Upanishads/Advaita, there is little chance to not to be impressed by those ideas.

guest • 14 hours ago

The Vedas aren’t mythology, the Mahabharat and the Ramayana are.

Hegelman • 19 hours ago

This is a major violation of secularism and our constitution. The Hindutva Brigade is getting out of control. Hindu right wing outfits are quoting Hindu scriptures and mythology.

It is time for the Secular Brigade to swing into action. Secular leftwing organisations – not outfits – should answer back by citing Christian and Muslim historical facts.

Hegelman • 19 hours ago

How can this be allowed in India? No one in India must cite Hindu scriptures or mythology. This is a secular land, and such actions violate our constitution.

jois • 19 hours ago

very nice explanation from scientist. what is the problem? we are proud to be Indian

Davinder Prasad • 19 hours ago

Outgoing Chief Mr Saye Asif Ibrahim must have been amused at this silly comment from the incoming Mr Avinash Chander. May Lord God help Mr Chand to think straight, he has responsibility for the whole nation.

SK tyagi • 20 hours ago

Well our vedas are full of all info needed by us

Devil • 21 hours ago

What is wrong if an accomplished Scientist Mr Chander is illustrating a point by invoking puranas or vedas. In west, people cite greek mythology, bible etc extensively to make points. Its only some of de-racinated Indians who are shameful of our heritage & culture and always trying to ape west. If Mr. Chander would have illustrate the same point invoking bible or greek mythology or sun tzu, he wouldn’t have raised any hackles. Shame on such deracinated Indians.

Katewal  Devil • 10 hours ago

Well said.

Mahalakshmi Iyer  Devil • 12 hours ago

First of all you should know the difference between mythology and philosophy.

Philosophy and mythology have nothing in common. Mythology belongs to the religious domain, it is religion explained in stories. Myths are passed down one generation to the next, and they belong to a specific culture.

Philosophy, on the other hand, belongs more to the scientific domain. It is the work of one man, or a series of men, as they sit down to think about the origin of the universe, the purpose of life and so on. Most philosophy has nothing to do with religion, and it can explain the world without superhuman figures.

Devils will always flock together to justify their baseless arguments.

Davinder Prasad  Devil • 19 hours ago

This is an equally silly comment, I am sorry to say. Being Hindu does not mean that you have to agree with every nonsense, I am saying this as a Hindu.

harsh baniya • a day ago

Anything wrong about that Indian Express? Don’t be so pathetic please.

harsh baniya • a day ago

So whats wrong in it …. ???? And btw Mahabharata is not mythology …. Foreign funded paid historians has termed it so

Ramesh Sharma • a day ago

He should have cited the relevant Vedic and Puranic sutras. Otherwise how can we verify his remarks? DRDO has grossly under performed given the resources at its command.

SC  Ramesh Sharma • 2 hours ago

Have you ever gone through Vedic or puranic literature? Had you studied you would not have raised this query.

Mahalakshmi Iyer • a day ago

How long are we going to talk science on the basis of mythology? No wonder we are no where near China in Science & Technology even after 62 years of independence.

We must understand Scientific temper is different from mythological temper. Our defense and space programmes should be based on Scientific innovations and not on mythological farts.

kyafarakpadtakounhai  Mahalakshmi Iyer • 14 hours ago

China followed the vedas and purana’s way before we did, all the technology in china has been spied and taken from the US and Europe, right from esculators, trains to their spaceship. What did china do on its own?

When a drone crashed in Iran, the Chinese were there even before US knew about the whereabouts of the Drone.

Even if it is Mythology, it has been conceived through experience.

In few centuries the atomic bomb and Einstein will also become Mythology.

Life on earth happens in cycles, if we are able to make the nuclear bomb, Bramha Astra must have been invented during the mythological times,

We have planes they have Pushpak Viman.

We have televisions they had Divya Dhristi.

The mantras are forumlas and proceedures to manufacture something.

We never believe in what we have at home, it is always bullshit, always things

outside our home look beautiful. The day we believe what we have is the day

when India will Surpass all other countries.

Bharani Komandur  Mahalakshmi Iyer • 20 hours ago

Why do we keep calling Mahabharata and Ramayana as “Mythology” and not “History”. Why are Hindus so ashamed of their History? Also, DRDO can accomplish a lot, if there is political will. Our politicians want to keep “buying” technology, so that their Swiss Banks accounts can be filled. That is the problem. In China, the punishment for Corruption is Death Sentence, and they do Execute them. In India, we Celebrate corruption. That is the problem. I am sure, if he had cited Bible or Quran, we “The Secular Hindus” would have applauded.

anonymous • a day ago

Tell me why aristotles poetics is taught in MA (English) even today. the same should be true for indian scriptures. what is all this debale about.

Arjun Narayanan • a day ago

Communal remarks! How dare he even think of Hindu scriptures in a secular country. Shall we start a twitter trend to protest this? At least a one hour discussion on News Hour should happen right?

DG1 • a day ago

DRDO chief has gone nuts. If he really was a student of Vedas then the moribund organization that he heads would not be as pathetic as it is, given the funds and resourced poured into it to come up with something worthwhile and original.

Bharani Komandur  DG1 • 20 hours ago

Please do not blame the DRDO. Do you really think that India can get to Mars, but cannot make a combat aircraft? Seriously? Politicians do not want the DRDO to make combat aircrafts or any high tech weapons. They want them to be “Imported only”, so that in those shady deals, their Bank Accounts in Switzerland and Mauritius can get filled.

LalaLajpatRai • a day ago

It is 100% true that several ancient texts talk about intelligence gathering though I differ with Avinash on his understanding of Rg Vedic texts. Instead of just quoting and claiming that we had all these before, it would have been useful if Avinash had really figured out what exactly we could use out of them in modern day context. Otherwise it is an empty useless talk.

sks  LalaLajpatRai • 18 hours ago

what u can use from it is them importance of intel gathering. That’s what the poor fellow emphasized. Now what technology was used may or may not be relevant for today hence he didnt go in that direction.

Sachi Mohanty • a day ago

All the nincompoops are coming out of the woodwork. Or, may be, this shows how technical education does not ‘teach’ rational thinking.

Gwen Stacy • a day ago

Why do you have problem with scientist stating some fact? There are verifiable . All you need is to roll your finger on internet online translation of Vedas .

Indian First • a day ago

Nice going…great future for this guy.

sishtla • a day ago

What is your problems if certain facts are told in the interest of nation to assist in intelligence gathering.Do the writer wants some other religious text to show his secular credentials.If the trend continues the news paper will have to close its publication.

MKRao • a day ago

I am shocked to see but it almost seems like talking anything that is related to Hinduism in India has become an unpardonable sin these!!! Why are we are becoming so intolerable towards Hinduism?!!! Why nobody talks of religions which are only turning a normal humans into perverts, psychopaths and subhumans?!!!! When the source of all religions were meant to be for betterment of Humanity?!!!!

Prabakar • a day ago

Excellent

Mohanlal Com • a day ago

Absolutely true! All Bharatiyas should be proud of these invaluable sayings and the nation must implement the principles.

Venkat • a day ago

Great though the author seems to be somewhat skeptical. Please read about Mahaperiyavaa to understand everything that we see today our so called new discoveries and inventions already find mention in the Vedas there is nothing new to discover.

anil • a day ago

For idiots, what DRDO chief said is a mythology, but for intelligents, it is history.

Sundara Pandiyan • a day ago

Good to know that our scientists are well-versed in our history and heritage.

  1. Curry • a day ago

May the spies of Jesus, his servant Modi, come down from the sky with thousands of eyes for DRDO chief Avinash Chander. Amen.

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Boots, Bullets, Rifles: All In Short Supply For Army

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Parliament's standing committee on Defence has revealed in a report that shortage of ammunition means "it would not be possible for the country to sustain a war for a longer period."
Parliament’s standing committee on Defence has revealed in a report that shortage of ammunition means “it would not be possible for the country to sustain a war for a longer period.”

Reported by Sudhi Ranjan Sen, Written by Suparna Singh | Updated: December 23, 2014 15:54 IST – NDTV

NEW DELHI: The army is running low on ammunition, soldiers posted to freezing places like Siachen and Leh don’t have boots or mosquito nets, and India has failed for over a decade to produce an assault rifle that meets the most basic requirements of the army.

These are some of the troubling highlights revealed by Parliament’s standing committee on Defence, headed by the BJP’s Major General BC Khanduri. The panel has 33 members from both houses of Parliament.

Based on information supplied by the Ministry of Defence, the committee has assessed the preparedness of the army in the winter session of Parliament which ends today.
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The committee, in a report submitted to Parliament, has found that soldiers in high-altitude areas are short of nearly 2 lakh pairs of ankle leather boots; more than 13 lakh canvas boots are needed in the same areas, one lakh mosquito nets are wanted, and soldiers are waiting for 65,000 Balaclavas or masks to keep their faces warm.

The committee says the Defence Ministry has failed to furnish plausible information about how many soldiers have bullet-proof jackets; the members believe that “an important life saving device has not been purchased by the Ministry jeopardizing the lives of thousands of soldiers.”

The committee has voiced its concern over the fact that while the Defence Ministry seems satisfied that equipment like night vision goggles are plentiful, the army has “an altogether different view.” The report offers this indictment – “it appears that the Ministry is not taking the Army into confidence while doing its perspective planning.”

The report warns clearly that the shortage of ammunition means “it would not be possible for the country to sustain a war for a longer period.”

The committee states that the Defence Research and Development Organization or DRDO, tasked with developing technology for the military, has failed since 1982 to produce an acceptable INSAS rifle, the standard weapon of the army .

“The Committee finds it shocking that even years of expertise has not evolved DRDO to develop world class basic product like a rifle,” its report says.

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OneIndia Exclusive: DRDO to abandon indigenous fighter jet engine Kaveri project

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Written by: Dr Anantha Krishnan M,Wednesday, November 19, 2014,

Bengaluru, Nov 18: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has decided to wind up the Kaveri engine (GTX-35VS ) programme, signaling an end to a desi dream of equipping its own fighter jet with a home-grown power plant. Sources in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed to OneIndia on Tuesday that the DRDO has already moved a file recently seeking the closure of the ambitious engine development project undertaken by Bengaluru-based Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE).kaveri engin
The proposal now needs to get the approval of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) and finally the clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) – a process expected to take at least a year. The Kaveri project, which began in the mid-80s, was aimed at powering the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. GTRE has spent so far Rs 2,106 crore on the project so far and could only fly the engine for 73 hours on the IL-76 Flying Test Bed (FTB) in Russia. The delay in the project saw DRDO choosing the GE 404 engine for Tejas Mk-1 and GE 414 for Tejas Mk-II. GTRE gets additional funds Sources said that the DRDO has sanctioned Rs 300 crore for GTRE to take up future projects. “The lab is gearing up to take up some futuristic projects and the sanctions have been already given. Another additional sanction of Rs 700 crore is on its way to help realize these gen-next technologies,” an official said.kaveri engin 1

Sources confirm that a separate proposal of Rs 2,600 crore to develop engines for an ‘ambitious project’ is under consideration now. The lab has been given another Rs 70 crore for a strategic programme. Part of DRDO’s bold decision, confirms DG Refusing to divulge the finer details, Dr K Tamilmani, Director-General (Aero), DRDO, confirmed to OneIndia that the Kaveri project will be scrapped. “Yes. These are part of the bold stand being taken by DRDO. Whereever we have found bottlenecks for long time, with no realistic solutions, it’s better to move on. It is an honest stand we are taking,” Tamilmani said. When asked whether the decision was a fall out of the recent remarks made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking DRDO to come out of the delay trap, the senior official refused to make a direct comment. “If you are fit to run only for 50 km, why attempt 100 km? DRDO has realized its mistakes of the past and we have no hesitation in taking some bold steps,” he said. Sources said that the MoF has sought some clarifications from DRDO on the Kaveri project, before the matter could finally reach the CCS.kaveri engin 2

Years of hard work won’t go waste: GTRE Director Dr C P Ramanarayanan, Director, GTRE, said that the DRDO decision might not be final. Leading a team of 900-plus staff at GTRE, Dr Ramanarayanan is now left with the task of inspiring the team to launch future projects. “This is not the end of the road. We have identified some 12 core areas of technologies and various teams are already at it. Years of hard work put in by the team won’t go waste either,” Dr Ramanarayanan, a torpedo specialist, told OneIndia.

kaveri engin 3He said world over not many countries have progressed ahead in making engines. “We have made a good start and despite the delays, proved our capabilities to our best of abilities. The lessons learnt will not go down the drain. India must become self sufficient in making aero engines and our efforts will continue,” he added.

Drdo

High Fives! Can DRDO fulfil Modi’s wish of youngsters heading 5 laboratories?

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Written by: Dr Anantha Krishnan M Updated: Wednesday, November 5, 2014, – One India News

Bengaluru, Nov 5: Hit by the short range ‘wish missile’ fired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi two months back, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) might be waking up to the reality that the change is imminent, and it’s now or never.

While addressing a DRDO award function in August this year, PM Modi had asked the top brass to set aside five laboratories for scientists below 35 years – a message that went viral on social media sites.

In an interview to OneIndia, Dr K Tamilmani, Director-General (Aero), DRDO, said that the PM’s wish to hand over the mandate of running some labs to youngsters has become a mandate now.

“The PM’s call to promote young talent has been well received by the youngsters within DRDO. We have been doing this exercise in the past as well and it will get a new focus now. It has to be a well-thought out plan keeping in mind factors such as project execution, financial management, administrative abilities and most-importantly leadership qualities,” Dr Tamilmani said.

IIT graduate heads Rs 22-crore futuristic project

He said emerging projects and technologies are being given to scientists at ‘D’ and ‘E’ levels. “We have been promoting youngsters in DRDO. To give an example, a fast-track technology development project has been already handed over to a young IIT graduate at the Aerial Delivery Research & Development Establishment in Agra. He is leading a 22-crore project for futuristic technologies for the development of an airship,” Dr Tamilmani said.

Sighting another example, he said the DRDO is in the process of handing over the ‘Rotary UAV’ project to a young team at the Aeronautical Development Establishment in Bengaluru.

DRDO spokesperson Ravi Gupta told OneIndia that youngsters were never ignored when it came to crucial projects. “Many youngsters have been project directors of some of our key projects. In Hyderabad itself we have two relatively young scientists in Dr Satheesh Reddy and Dr Tessy Thomas heading two critical labs – the Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and the Advanced System Laboratory (ASL) respectively. With the PM’s new directive, the idea of promoting youngsters will now get a new impetus,” Ravi Gupta said.

Modi’s idea is great, execution tough

According to Pushpindar Singh, aviation historian, author and publisher, the DRDO must undergo radical changes to become a world beater in defence R&D.

“You must have a virtual revolution within the DRDO. To me, the system won’t allow youngsters to come up. Modi has some brilliant ideas. But to execute the ideas, he will have to penetrate through the babudom. If the PM wants to see young hands spearheading projects in DRDO, then he should privatise DRDO. The results will be magical. Else we will see the same story doing the rounds,” said Pushpindar, one of the prominent voices of Indian defence.

Creation of new labs the only solution

A top DRDO director who wanted not to be named said that the PM’s idea of handing over the reins of some labs to youngsters below the age group of 35 might not work.

“Honestly, the idea might sound great, but there will be a lot of practical difficulties. It’s not an easy task to give the lab charge to a Scientist D or E and then ask someone senior at Scientist H to report to a lower rank. It will create unrest among the system. Even if it has to be done, then it has to be executed without creating any heartburn,” the official said.

He said the only way out to fulfil PM’s mandate is to create 5 small labs with limited mandate to start with. “We need to identify 5 different projects to be handed over to these labs. All the five labs must report to one Director-General to avoid further hiccups. I agree that DRDO has built in too many layers within and despite the implementation of Rama Rao Committee’s recommendations, lots need to improve,” the official added.

Ready to take risk, let young guns take charge

In his speech PM Modi had said that the government was willing to take risks by giving young guns a chance to run R&D programme. His wish-list included.

Identify five laboratories within DRDO for youngsters

Only scientists below 35 years will work here

All key decisions should be taken by the people in these labs

DRDO must develop systems ahead of others

We got the potential, must work ahead of time DRDO must bring comfort in the routine lives of jawans.

DRDO scientists should inspire youth in universities.

As this piece goes live on OneIndia, there are media reports that the PMO has struck down the service extension request for four scientists, working past their retirement age. The decision by the PMO might upset the DRDO top brass, who always had their way when it came to extension of senior scientists.

“Sixty is not the right age for a scientist to retire. In abroad, the scientists work even beyond 70 years. We need to debate this issue and see how best we can retain the talent of our senior scientists,” says a retired DRDO director, who had got two extensions (2 + 2 years) after touching 60 years.

The PM has definitely set the ball rolling by inspiring the youth within DRDO. Whether the DRDO top brass can live up to his expectations is something worthy to watch!