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DRDO opts for commercial suppliers to cut costs
By siliconindia
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Wednesday, 15 July 2009, 21:13 IST
Bangalore: In order to cut costs and reduce long gestation periods, the Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO) has decided to use components sourced from commercial suppliers in large and critical projects. Military-grade standard requires the components to be rugged, durable and should withstand extreme vibration, heat and temperature. Usually, DRDO designs systems from critical components it builds on its own to ensure that military-grade standard is maintained.
"Radars are the first systems in which we are using commercial components." said Prahlada, Chief Controller of R&D at DRDO. The radars of the airborne early warning and controls system (AWACS) will be the first large defense system to be built mainly using commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) components and microprocessors. The AWACS radars, being built by Centre for Airborne Systems, are to be integrated on Embraer aircraft, manufactured by Embraer SA of Brazil.
DRDO has also used the components from commercial suppliers for other projects like Rustom, the unmanned aerial vehicle that DRDO is developing. The commercial suppliers are providing Rustom's flight control systems and avionics.
India began experimenting with commercially available components for its military equipment after the 1998 nuclear tests, when the U.S. imposed sanctions, prohibiting supply of components that could be used for both commercial and defense purposes. Projects such as India's first indigenous light combat aircraft Tejas and passenger plane Saras were hit due to the ban. Since then, India has become a huge market for component suppliers, who bring in advanced chips and systems around the same time they are introduced in developed markets.
