DRDO hands over seven homegrown defence technologies to armed forces

India on Friday announced the handover of seven indigenous defence technologies — ranging from a long-life seawater battery system to a waterjet propulsion system — to the armed forces, marking a fresh push under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme.

The defence ministry said the technologies, developed by Indian industry with collaboration and guidance from DRDO experts and the tri-services, were formally handed over on 2 December during a meeting of the Empowered Committee of DRDO at DRDO Bhawan in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Samir V. Kamat, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO.

“Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has handed over seven technologies developed under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme to the three Services,” the ministry said.

The technologies include an indigenous high-voltage power supply for airborne self-protection jammers, a tide-efficient gangway for naval jetties, advanced very low frequency-high frequency switching matrix systems, VLF loop aerials for underwater platforms, an indigenous waterjet propulsion system for fast interceptor craft, a novel process for recovery of lithium precursors from used lithium-ion batteries, and a long-life seawater battery system for sustained underwater sensing and surveillance applications.

Each system has been “extensively tested” and is aimed at supporting import substitution and the development of critical capabilities, the ministry said.

Senior representatives from the armed forces, the Department of Defence Production and the DRDO attended the meeting where the Committee also discussed a wide range of new proposals. It approved 12 new projects across strategic, aerospace, naval and electronic warfare technologies.

“These approvals underscore the continued focus on building domestic capability and reducing dependency on foreign technologies in critical and emerging technology areas,” the ministry said.

The Committee discussed approval mechanisms for various TDF project categories and stressed the need to expedite end-to-end processing to align with evolving strategic and technological requirements. It also reviewed the roadmap for successfully developed technologies and how acquisition processes could be streamlined.

Policy alignment and enabling mechanisms were recommended to ensure faster induction and deployment of developed technologies.

Addressing the participants, the chairman of the DRDO reaffirmed the government’s commitment to strengthening indigenous defence innovation under the vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ through faster execution of the TDF scheme.