Rajnath Singh announced that 75 percent of total defence capital outlay would be spent on procurement from domestic defence manufacturers.
Day 3 of Aero India 2023, being held at the Indian Air Force grounds at Yelahanka on the outskirts of Bengaluru, saw announcements by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, MoUs between various public and private sector companies, and the launch of several initiatives.
Wedesday, 15 February, witnessed the firming up of 266 partnerships, including 201 MoUs, 53 major announcements, nine product launches and three transfers of technology (ToT) pacts — together worth around ₹80,000 crore.
Rajnath Singh also announced that 75 percent of the total defence capital outlay would be spent on procurement from domestic defence manufacturers in 2023-24, a move aimed at boosting the indigenous production of various weapons and military platforms.
iDeX Investor Hub launched
Defence Minister launched the ‘iDEX Investor Hub’ (iIH), under which more than ₹200 crore has already been pledged by leading Indian investors.
He also launched the ninth edition of the ‘Defence India Startup Challenges (DISC 9)’ on cybersecurity during the annual defence innovation event ‘Manthan’ as part of Aero India 2023.
Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) is the flagship initiative of the Department of Defence Production to encourage start-ups and other such entities engaged in defence innovation.
The iDEX Investor Hub aims to accelerate investment in the defence sector and give investors a unified view of opportunities and innovations, officials said.
DISC 9 is the first collaboration of iDEX with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (i4C) division of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). These challenges have been curated from the services, defence public sector units (DPSUs), and the MHA, revealing the deep impact and interest iDEX has generated in the defence industry.
Also read: PM Modi inaugurates 14th edition of Aero India in Bengaluru
Several MoUs signed
The agreements and the MoUs were formally signed at an event attended by Defence Minister Singh, top leaders of Indian defence industries and senior military officials.
The Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) also signed MoUs with leading investors.
DIO has also signed MoUs with ISRO, IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre), and ISpA (Indian Space Association) to further strengthen the Defence Space, a release said, adding that another MoU was signed with the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) to potentially launch start-up challenges in the future.
MoUs and ToT agreements signed during Aero India will facilitate a new beginning for defence manufacturing in India, Singh said.
A new chapter in India’s aerospace sector has begun today, he said.
“Neither will we stop in the face of any obstacle, nor will we bow down in front of any problem. I am sure that this resolution will always remain in our mind,” he said.
HAL to provide support for MQ-9B’
State-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will provide maintenance support services for engines of the American MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft System, considered one of the most sophisticated armed drones globally.
The announcement of the project comes amid India’s ongoing talks with the US to procure 30 MQ-9B armed drones at a cost of over $3 billion primarily to crank up its surveillance apparatus along the frontier with China as well as in the Indian Ocean region.
In 2020, the Indian Navy had taken on lease two MQ-9B Sea Guardian drones from General Atomics for a period of one year for surveillance in the Indian Ocean. The lease period has been extended subsequently.
The GA-ASI and HAL said the turbo-propeller engines, which power GA-ASI’s state-of-art MQ-9B drone will be supported by the Indian aerospace major’s engine division at Bengaluru for the Indian market.
“GA-ASI is proud to collaborate with HAL on this prestigious project,” said Dr Vivek Lall, Chief Executive, General Atomics Global Corporation.
“HAL is the foremost Indian public sector Aerospace and Defence agency, and its vast experience in the domain of aero-engine technology makes it our natural partner in India,” he said.
The drone is the first hunter-killer unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for long-endurance and high-altitude surveillance.
The MQ-9B has signals intelligence and communications intelligence systems integrated onboard, but it can take any number of other custom sensors as necessary.
MoU between HAL, Safran Helicopter Engines
An MoU between HAL and Safran Helicopter Engines of France for work share for the formation of a joint venture for the design, development, manufacture and lifetime support of helicopter engines, was also signed.
The Bharat Electronics Ltd and Aeronautical Development Agency inked an MoU for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).
India will spend 75 per cent of the total defence capital outlay for procurement from domestic defence manufacturers in 2023-24, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Wednesday.
The move will mean setting aside around ₹1 lakh crore for procurement from domestic sources out of the total defence capital outlay of ₹1,62,600 crore announced in the Union Budget for the next fiscal, officials said.
According to official data, the value of India’s indigenous defence production from 2019-20 to 2021-22 was ₹2.58 lakh crore.
In 2020-21, the government had set aside 58 percent of defence capital outlay for procurement from the Indian defence industry. It was increased to 64 percent in 2021-22. The allocation was further enhanced to 68 percent in 2022-23.
The Aero India event was aimed at promoting the export of indigenous platforms like Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Tejas, HTT-40, Dornier Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH).
Also read: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hosts SPEED conclave
Product launches
The product launches at Aero India included the vertically launched short-range surface-to-air missile (Bharat Dynamics Limited).
It is a next-generation, ship-based, all-weather, air defence weapon which can be used by the Navy as a quick reaction defence against supersonic sea-skimming targets such as aircraft and UAVs.
The missile has a smokeless propulsion system with all-weather capability. It has a highly agile configuration with state-of-the-art electronic counter-measures features.
Drone startup Garuda Aerospace on Wednesday unveiled its solar-powered drone “SURAJ”, designed specifically for surveillance operations, at Aero India 2023 here.
According to the company, SURAJ is an ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) high-altitude drone designed specifically for surveillance operations, providing “real-time information to the high command and protecting jawans on the ground.”
The drone is all set to support various Indian and global giants namely the Indian Army, Navy, Airforce, BSF, CRPF, CISF, ITBP, DRDO, MOD, and MHA, the company said in a release.
Aero India 2023: Day 3 witnesses MoUs, announcements, launches of around ₹80,000 crore
