'We meet half of Defence needs indigenously'
It is heartening that 60-70 per cent of missile components are made by the Indian aerospace industry.
India is facing an unprecedented situation in the Defence arena — its hostile neighbourhood, internal security threats from insurgency and technology denials. Its Defence budget is big. The Ministry is funding several multi-billion dollar projects such as the $10-billion, medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), which have attracted big players to bid. Its spend on military modernisation by 2015 is estimated to be around $80 billion.
In this scenario, the DRDO, with a string of nearly 50 national labs across the country, faces its biggest test, up against technology denials, competition from global giants and shrinking manpower.
Will the organisation take on the competition and withstand challenges? Exuding confidence is its Director General and the Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri, Dr V. K. Saraswat, a missile scientist and a votary of taking on challenges.
Excerpts from an interview:
On successes of missiles:
After the launch of Agni-IV, I can confidently say that our missile technology has come of age. We are all set to launch Agni-V (inter-continental ballistic missile) soon. The learning, through successes and failures under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) during 1982-2007, has helped us mature our technologies, get good support from domestic industry. The result has been a slew of indigenous technologies, shrinking the time in developing a missile and reducing costs.
For example, Agni-IV (range of more than 3,500 km) — the intermediate-range ballistic missile — was started in 2009, successfully test-flown in 2011, and we are sure to deliver it to the armed forces in 2014-15. This means a cycle of five-six years, which is comparable to the best on earth. In the case of Prithvi (350 km), it took up to 10-12 years for development and induction.
In technology terms, a host of indigenous technologies, components and systems have been built. Rudimentary control systems have been replaced with sophisticated versions — inertial navigation systems with GPS, homing guidance instead of command guidance, radio frequency seekers, ring laser gyros etc. We have established sound expertise to design, develop and produce a range of missiles, from the tactical Prahar (150 km) to Agni-IV, as well as score success in a Ballistic Missile Defence system.
On role of industry:
The domestic industry of the 1970s and 80s has to our satisfaction also transformed into state-of-the-art, especially in the aerospace sector. There are around 300-400 industries working with the strategic sectors — Defence, nuclear and space. For DRDO, they have succeeded in building solid ground systems, components and subsystems. They are now graduating into integrating missiles.
It is heartening that 60-70 per cent of missile components are made by the Indian aerospace industry. However, we need to concentrate on the research component area, especially since technology denial regimes have not eased against India.
On technology denials and its impact:
We have learnt a lot of lessons during the last three decades. We made concerted efforts to develop critical technologies started by Mr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. With the support of industry, we have succeeded to a large extent. For example, we have developed the phase-shifters for Akash (medium-range, surface-to-air tactical missile), servo valves, magnesium plates.
The only area of concern is micro-electronics. Want of proper foundries is a handicap. We have design capabilities, but are forced to send it to foreign foundries. The DRDO has been spending Rs 300-400 crore only on critical technologies in radars, electronic warfare systems, missiles, aircraft, etc. Yes, the impact of technology denials was felt more during the 1980s and 90s. Slowly, but steadily, we are overcoming it.
On project delays, cost over-runs and acceptability of DRDO products by the armed forces:
Cost and time over-runs are due to several reasons. Technology denials, for one. We had taken for granted some technology and component support from abroad during the development phase of large projects. In some cases, either the technology was totally denied or assured components delayed for a long period, either way impacting the progress. Hence, denials impacted LCA, IGMDP, Main Battle Tank, Arjun, Electronic Warfare etc.
For example, in LCA, the wing is made of carbon fibre. The National Aerospace Laboratory, Bangalore, struggled to make it for long. The question was of technology maturity. There was a mismatch between technology maturity, industrial capability and project goals during the 1980s-90s, which has affected MBT, IGMDP etc.
To overcome these issues, we now have a strategy. We assess the level of technology maturity, the industrial base available, use IT tools, concurrent engineering, revamped project management and run projects on mission mode. You will see the difference in LCA mark-II or the Ballistic Missile Defence or the Agni-IV & V. The MBT mark-II being launched has been given 18 months to develop.
The next major exercise underway is to forge collaborations between DRDO-industry-academia and foreign countries/companies willing to provide support. I recently visited Canada, the UK and the US, where some important MoUs have been inked. This way, we can bridge technology gaps, reduce development cycles and cut costs.
For a measure of acceptance of DRDO-developed products, we have data that in 2004-2011, the contribution of DRDO products is around 1.35 lakh crore, through public sector and private industry. At present, up to 45 per cent of armed forces' needs are being met through indigenous production.
Offset Policy and challenge to DRDO:
The offset provisions are expected to make a major dent, especially in upgradation of capacity in industry, access to technologies and building capacities.
For example, in the MMRCA programme, there is an offset of up to 50 per cent of the contract to be sourced from India. Similarly, the IAI of Israel is talking to many Indian companies for the LRSAM (long-range surface-to-air missile) project implementation.
As for DRDO, the entry of multinationals will not affect it much. It could help in bridging technology gaps, in a way. DRDO is a systems developer. We will benefit through offset because we have a list of technologies needed and we can choose them before the large deal is sealed. Also, Defence offset does not include civil areas, therefore the plough-back into research and technology efforts should be profitable for us, as it can raise self-reliance, which, in a way, is now independence from technology-control regimes.
There is also tremendous scope for joint ventures involving public and private sectors, multinationals and the Indian industry. The Ministry is also formulating a new JV Policy. The Indo-Russian joint-venture, BrahMos Aerospace, and its success in producing the supersonic cruise missile, Brahmos, has given a good feel and experience in JVs.
Attrition, manpower issues:
Yes, during 1985-2000, the attrition rates were high. We were not able to attract the brightest. But, in 2000-2004, there has been large-scale induction. These youngsters are proving their mettle now. This is clear in the successes of Agni-IV, BMD, MBT and a range of technologies coming out of our labs. Attrition is a market phenomenon and DRDO has around 10-15 per cent now.
The challenging projects, the brand built by DRDO, and the attractive remuneration we have worked out, is making youngsters stay and take on the tasks. In my recent visits to Canada and the US, several NRIs expressed their interest to return, which is welcome. We have created a website to speed up such moves.
Business Line : Opinion : 'We meet half of Defence needs indigenously'
