Invisible planes next on DRDO's radar, thanks to Sage Bharadwaj?

India's premier defence research organisation DRDO is open to co-developing a technology promoted by an Indian scientist who claims he can make planes invisible using pre-Mahabharata sage Bharadwaj's formulae, a senior agency official said here Friday.

Speaking to IANS on the sidelines of the Bharatiya Vigyan Sammelan here, Satish Kumar, chief controller in-charge of research and development (technology management) at the Defence Research of Development Organisation (DRDO), said the agency was open to any technology which helps save time and cost.

"Oh yes, we have to work together. Certainly, we are looking for such kind of a partnership in the country," said Kumar, when asked if DRDO would be open to looking at an invisibility-enhancing alloy manufactured using ancient techniques by scientist C.S.R. Prabhu, who claims it can have potential use for radar-defying stealth planes.

Prabhu's presentation was one of the highlights of the three-day conference, which is being attended by scientists from several states, including those from the government sector.

Prabhu, a former head of the central government's National Informatics Centre, claimed that the formulae for the alloy has been sourced from Bharadwaj's book 'Brihad Viman Shastra' and could make even planes invisible, because it absorbed 80 percent of the light.

Kumar, who has been associated with prestigious DRDO programmes like developing liquid propellant rocket engines for Pritvi and Agni missiles, also said any available indigenous technology had to be nurtured and that technology which saved cost and times was of interest to the DRDO.

"...wherever we see we can be benefited by technology by which we can reduce the time and cut the cost, certainly we will try to go for it," Kumar said.

The sammelan is aimed at creating awareness about traditional indigenous sciences and linking it to more modern sciences.