Army Design Bureau set up for domestic procurement of weapons

Army has set up its own design bureau to facilitate research and development as part of its efforts towards meeting its requirement for weapons and equipment domestically, Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Subrata Saha said today.
In the backdrop of Army having huge requirement of weapons and equipment considering the changing times and technology, there was the difficulty of sustenance of imported weapons, which had to be adapted to Indian conditions, he said.
Lt Gen Saha said as part of Make in India, the defence sector had taken a major step to manufacture the requirement domestically, which would be cost effective and suited to the local conditions, and the bureau had been set up toward this.

He was speaking at the 'Know your Army Expo' showcasing arms, artillery and ammunition organised by local chapter of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
The Deputy Army Chief cited imported ground sensors as an example and said they failed to function in areas like Kashmir, during the snowfall.
Similarly, several equipment imported as part of legacy, did not properly function in the country's weather conditions, he said, adding even bullet proof jackets for jawans weighing 15 kgs had to be newly designed to suit domestic condition.

Army would soon come out with a compendium of Problem Definition Document, which would highlight the requirements of Army for the coming 10 to 15 years. It would help students, researchers and industries to find solutions for the benefit of the defence sector, Saha said.

A presentation made on the occasion on the Army requirements stated that a website would be launched by August 31, which will be highly interactive and the industries, students and researchers can send in their thoughts and suggestions.
Since a terrorist in Kashmir or any other part of the world have access to highly sophisticated weapons, the thoughts should supersede it and be a counter to such weapons, it said.
Army in future require equipment like self propelled guns, rocket launchers, upgraded guided rocket launchers and electronic fuses and also tanks, which have already been outdated, the presentation added.