Army approves five Make II projects providing impetus to 'Atma Nirbhaarta'

According to Defence Ministry, the Make -2 projects are essentially industry-funded projects involving design, development and innovative solutions by Indian vendors for the development of prototypes.

To give a further boost to the ongoing projects, the Indian Army has now approved Project Sanction Orders (PSOs) of five Make II projects providing Impetus to Atma Nirbhaarta.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the Make -2 projects are essentially industry-funded projects involving design, development and innovative solutions by Indian vendors for the development of prototypes.

"Indian Army is spearheading actions to provide impetus to "Make Projects" as the prime drivers of infusion of niche technologies through indigenous development. To give a further boost to the ongoing projects, the Indian Army has now approved Project Sanction Orders (PSOs) of five Make II projects. Make II projects are essentially Industry funded projects involving design, development and innovative solutions by Indian vendors for the development of prototypes. An assurance of order is given after successful prototype development," the Ministry said.

Five Make-2 projects are High-Frequency Man Packed Software Defined Radio (HFSDR), Drone Kill System, Infantry Training Weapon Simulator (IWTS), 155mm Terminally Guided Munitions (TGM) and Medium Range Precision Kill System (MRPKS).

High-Frequency Man-Packed Software Defined Radio: It will facilitate blue-force tracking with map-based navigation using GIS, thereby increasing real-time situational awareness. These radio sets will replace the existing HF radio sets in the inventory, which have limited data handling capability and obsolete technology," the ministry said.

Drone Kill System: Drone Kill System is a hard kill anti-drone system against low Radio Cross Section (RCS) Drone or unmanned Aerial System (UAS), being developed to function in all types of terrains, both during day and night.

Infantry Training Weapon Simulator: It will be utilised to augment the marksmanship skills of young soldiers on variety of weapons used by the, providing user-friendly graphics to simulate battle scenarios.

IWTS is a modern training aid, which will reduce recurrent expenditures on live ammunition, besides obviating the challenges of availability of firing ranges and inclement weather. Each IWTS will facilitate the training of 10 personnel at any one point of time.

155mm Terminally Guided Munitions: Project Sanction Order has been issued to six Developing Agencies (DAs) for the development of 155 mm Terminally Guided Munition (TGM) under the Make II scheme. Variants of ammunition were held in the inventory of the Indian Army, sans, the precision strike capability. The Indian Army, therefore, plans to procure approximately 2000 rounds of 155mm TGM against High-Value Targets with assured Precision and Lethality for mission accomplishment and minimum collateral damage.

Medium Range Precision Kill System: It can 'Loiter' in the air for upto two hours and can acquire, designate and engage real-time high-value targets upto 40 km. In times to come we see our country transforming as "AtmaNirbhaar" in Loitering Munition Technology.

The Ministry further said that the Indian Army is already progressing with 43 ongoing projects under the Make II procedure of Capital Acquisition.

17 out of 43 projects have been initiated through suo-moto proposals received from the industry, which has generated enthusiasm and confidence in the Indian defence industry for participation in the "Make procedure".

Make II procurement scheme has given an impetus to increase the Design & Development in the defence industry to achieve the indigenisation of high-end technology systems in various types of weapon systems, ammunition and modern training systems, which are currently not available in the country.

Multiple measures to expedite the ongoing Make II projects have resulted in tangible outcomes. 22 out of 43 Make II projects are now in prototype development stage, which is 66 % of projects by cost (Rs 18,000 crores out of 27,000 crores).