BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to provide impetus to domestic defence enterprise, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has sanctioned seven new projects to Indian industries for various requirements of the Armed forces, aerospace and defence.
The projects approved under the technology development fund are underwater-launched unmanned aerial vehicle, long-range remotely operated vehicles for detection and neutralisation, indigenous scenario and sensor simulation toolkit and ice detection sensor for aircraft.
Innovative projects like development of radar signal processor with active antenna array simulator, Indian regional navigation satellite system-based timing acquisition and dissemination systems and graphene-based smart and e-textiles for multifunctional wearable applications have also been sanctioned.
DRDO sources said the underwater-launched unmanned aerial vehicle is a smart system that can be deployed in multiple combat roles. A versatile marine battlefield accessory, it can be used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance besides maritime domain awareness. The project has been awarded to Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt Ltd, Pune.
The long-range remotely operated vehicles are dual-use systems that will enable detection, classification, localisation and neutralisation of underwater objects while keeping the key assets away from the suspected operational area. The project has been awarded to IROV Technologies Pvt Ltd, a Kochi-based start-up.
While the project relating to ice detection in aircraft aims to develop a sensor, which can detect icing condition in-flight, caused by super-cooled water droplets, the development of a radar signal processor with active antenna array simulator will enable deployment of multiple target system for test and evaluation of short-range aerial weapon systems.
“The sensor can be utilised by aircraft for turning on their anti-icing mechanism. The sensor project has been handed over to Craftlogic Labs Pvt Ltd, Bengaluru. The radar signal processor project that can serve as the basic building block for larger radar systems has been awarded to Data Pattern (India) Limited, Chennai,” the sources said.
Alohatech Pvt Ltd, Coimbatore has been entrusted to develop conductive yarn and fabric-making processes using graphene nanomaterials and conductive inks. Noida-based Oxygen 2 Innovation Pvt Ltd will develop an indigenous toolkit for simulator training of pilots in realistic scenarios.