DRDO Indigenous Weapons: Dr Samir V. Kamat who serves as Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation or DRDO has once again stressed the need for India to spend more money on research and development. While speaking at the Air Chief Marshal (Retd) P.C. Lal Memorial Lecture organised by the Air Force Association, he explained that India still spends very little on R&D compared to other major powers.
According to The week he said India puts only 0.65% of its total budget into research, while rival nations spend more than 2%. According to him, this gap makes it harder for India to stay ahead in modern defence technology.
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He explained that war today is not just fought on land or in the air. It also happens in space, cyber space, and even through information systems. Because of this, research has become more important than ever.
New Defence Systems Coming Soon
During his speech, Dr Kamat spoke about several defence systems that India plans to bring into service very soon. According to ANI, he said DRDO is now working hard on future-ready areas like underwater awareness, intelligence and surveillance systems, space tracking, man-unmanned teaming, cyber security, and defence against ballistic and hypersonic missiles.
He said, “In the next one to three years, we are going to induct systems like ‘Anant Shastra’ surface-to-air missile, guided Pinaka, Advanced Light Weight Torpedo, Trawl Assembly, Infantry Floating Bridge, Extended Range Anti-Submarine Rocket, Very Short Range Air Defence System, Vertical Launch Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile, Dhruvastra Anti-Tank Missile, Naval Anti-Ship Missile-Short Range,” he said.
Self-Reliance by 2047
Dr Kamat said the journey ahead will be tough but exciting. India wants to become fully self-reliant in defence by 2047. He explained that the country must build everything on its own, including missile systems, tanks, bridges for the army, artillery guns, ammunition, fighter aircraft, ships, submarines, airborne warning systems, and electronic warfare tools.
He also spoke openly about money issues. He said, “India spends about 5.5 per cent of its defence budget on R&D. If you look at US and China, they spend between 10-15 per cent of their defence budget on R&D. If we have to catch up with them, it is going to be very challenging unless we increase our defence R&D spending.”
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He pointed out other problems too. India still does not fully control its supply chains and there is a shortage of skilled research talent. He said universities must play a bigger role in both basic and applied research. He also stressed the need for better testing facilities and stronger infrastructure.
“Academic involvement in basic and applied research on future technologies is essential,” he said. He also added, “We have to do this; otherwise, we will remain where we are today. Capability building is also lacking. Civil-military fusion is the need of the hour,” he said.
