There is an urgent need to modernise the armed forces as well as to train experts who manage, procure and integrate advanced foreign equipment into our weapons system, said experts and former members of Armed Forces at a discussion on the future of defence technology in India.
Organised by the Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, which has announced a collaborative academic programme on studies in defence technologies with MBDA, a global missile developer and Cranfield University, the discussion held on Monday served as a platform for hosting ideas seeking to recalibrate the Indian military into a technologically superior force in the coming years.
Sujeet Samaddar, a retired commodore from the Indian navy, now a director and CEO of Shinmaywa Industries, said that modernisation was a continuous process and was categorised into three stages. He added that the most advanced transformational stage of equipment was the one, which India needed to zero in on by 2027.
Speaking about the quest for an indigenously designed fifth generation fighter aircraft, Sammadar said, “We have lost the battle once again. They have been around for the last 10 years. So let’s lose it. But let us look to the seventh-generation aircraft, the scramjet — aircraft which have the capability of reaching velocities of up to Mach 24.”
Highlighting the growing role of private industry in defence, Davendra Bhatnagar, CEO, Mahindra Defence and Naval, said that the biggest obstacle faced by privateers looking to invest in defence was the lack of trained personnel with expertise in dealing with defence equipment and technology.
“We don’t have any management schools which teach our students about dealing with engineering products. So there is a lacunae of highly-skilled engineers coming out of college,” added Javaji Munirathnam, who earlier worked as a trainee with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Advanced Light Helicopter projects.
However, defending the pool of talent and technical know-how available in India, S Varthaman, former air officer, commander-in-chief, Eastern Air Command, said that critical technologies were already available in India.
“Technologies in many fields already exist. However, there is no sharing of information taking place between the various bodies,” he said.
Mirroring the positive comments of Varthaman, Samaddar illustrated how Indian component designs were being used by leaders in the aviation industry.
“Indian designers have been responsible for the designing of key components used in many civilian aircraft, such as the Boeing 747. So we know that the capability is there,” he said.
