Defence minister Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for Defence Technology & Test Centre and BRAHMOS Manufacturing Centre, established by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on December 26, 2021. The foundation for the two units was laid in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Yogi Adityanath. A first of its kind Defence Technologies & Test Centre (DTTC), over approximately 22 acres is being set up to accelerate the growth of the defence and aerospace manufacturing clusters in Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UP DIC). It will consist of the following six subcentres:
- Deep-Tech Innovation & Startup Incubation Centre
- Design & Simulation Centre
- Testing & Evaluation Centre
- Centre for Industry 4.0/Digital Manufacturing
- Skill Development Centre
- Business Development Centre
The BRAHMOS Manufacturing Centre, announced by BrahMos Aerospace, is a modern, state-of-art facility in the Lucknow node of UP DIC. It will cover over 200 acres and produce the new BRAHMOS-NG (Next Generation) variant, which carries forward the lineage of the BRAHMOS weapons system. This new centre would be ready over the next two to three years and will commence production at a rate of 80-100 BRAHMOS-NG missiles per year.
Rajnath Singh exuded confidence that the two units will play a pivotal role in bolstering national security, defence production as well as the economy of Uttar Pradesh. He said, the state-of-the-art facilities will prove to be an important milestone in the defence sector.
On the ‘Defence Technology and Test Centre’, the Raksha Mantri said, the Centre will provide the technological base to develop defence products keeping in mind the young innovators and startups in Amausi region of Uttar Pradesh. He added that the Centre will make all endeavours to fulfil the creative energy, capabilities and aspirations of the youth of Uttar Pradesh. It will help in bringing the MSMEs of Uttar Pradesh together and bring the state at the forefront in the field of defence and aerospace manufacturing, he said. He added that the Centre, through skill development, will create direct and indirect employment in the field of defence and aerospace manufacturing.
He termed BRAHMOS as the world’s best and fastest precision-guided weapon which has strengthened India’s credible deterrence in the 21st century.
The state-of-the-art Defence Technologies & Test Centre is being set up to implement the MoU exchanged between Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) and DRDO during DefExpo-2020 at Lucknow in presence of the Raksha Mantri and the UP Chief Minister. The DTTC, Lucknow will follow the design-build-test-learn cycle for technology consultancy & handholding of the Deep-Tech Startups & industries.
It will facilitate industries through establishing a centralized state of the art technology infrastructure which will accelerate the product development and reduce the induction time & the turnaround time for the futuristic systems development through its 6 subcentres. This unique setup will act as a bridge for Industries & Startups to grasp the DRDO’s IPRs, Patents & ToTs. It will extend holistic handholding to Industries, Startups & Academia in UP DIC. It will promote the growth of Industries & Startups in UPDIC and Ease of Doing Business and contribute to building an AtmaNirbhar Bharat.
The BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile system is one of the most successful missile programmes in the world. India has undertaken jointly in partnership with its closest strategic ally Russia. As the world’s best and fastest precision-guided weapon, BRAHMOS has fortified India’s deterrence power in 21st century. Designed and developed by India-Russia JV entity BrahMos Aerospace, supersonic cruise missile BRAHMOS has continued to evolve as the most versatile weapon in its genre. To carry forward this excellent lineage, BrahMos Aerospace has initiated work on a new, more advanced variant of the missile – BRAHMOS-NG. This new missile, having smaller, lighter and smarter dimensions, would be designed for deployment on a wider number of modern military platforms, including land, sea, underwater and air. It will hugely bolster Indian military’s modern combat capability and flexibility in the next few years.
