Time To Ensure Indian Aircraft Fly With Indigenously Made Engines: Rajnath Singh

Rajnath Singh stated on Tuesday that India holds that nations with superior military powers do not have the right to dictate solutions to others.

New Delhi: Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh said Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) played an important role in the Country. He emphasized the significance of concentrating on indigenous weapon system design and development employing niche technologies like artificial intelligence, drones, stealth, hypersonic, and quantum computing.

Singh exuded confidence that the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) will soon be able to rapidly advance in that direction and add to its accomplishments, which already include the "Prithvi," "Akash," and "Agni" missiles.

He praised the DRDO for continuously progressing in the defense and aerospace industries by developing a variety of guns, missiles, radar systems, and ammunition.

The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, according to Singh, will forever alter the aerospace industry.

"A highly-capable aerial platform, LCA Tejas has a commendable record in flight safety which speaks volumes about its quality. Based on its success, the government has now approved LCA-Mk II for the Indian Air Force, while the Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter is under consideration for the Indian Navy," he said.

"We have also started moving forward in the path of design and manufacturing of Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft in the form of fifth generation stealth aircraft. Whether it is water, land or sky, the DRDO has always been at the forefront in strengthening the security infrastructure," he said.

According to Singh, the DRDO is no longer merely a service provider for defense R&D.

"It is now also a facilitator for in-house industrial R&D, start-ups and private sector labs. There is a need to take advantage of this synergy," he said.

Singh urged the DRDO to work on developing disruptive, cutting-edge, or frontier technologies and to establish short-term, mid-term, and long-term objectives.

"While we are progressing towards becoming one of the strongest countries in the world, we should have strong support for the next level of armed forces capable of facing any new challenge," he said.

The Akash Weapon System, LCA Tejas, long range surface-to-air missiles, and Light Combat Helicopter "Prachand" were just a few of the initiatives Singh mentioned in the workshop titled "Sustainment in MRO and Obsolescence Mitigation."

He also mentioned that the Armed Forces would soon have 160 Prachand helicopters.

Singh expressed optimism that these measures would reduce the armed forces' reliance on external sources.