DRDO plans nano materials research and production units

Chennai: Realising the potential of nanotechnology in modern warfare, state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was planning to set up nano materials research and production facilities in three places at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore, a senior official said today. “The nano materials research and production facilities would come up in Hyderabad, Delhi and Kanpur at a total cost of Rs 1,000 crore in a few years.It is yet to receive the government approval,” DRDO’s chief controller (R&D) S Sundaresh told reporters in Chennai.[caption id=“attachment_982545” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A DRDO tableau. Image courtesy PIB[/caption] Earlier, addressing an international conference on nanotechnology at the private Sathyabama University near in Chennai, he said the DRDO was focusing on the applications of nano technology in various fields of defence in the country. “We missed the industrial revolution, we almost missed the IT revolution and computers. We cannot afford to miss the nano revolution,” he said. DRDO was also looking into the possibilities of using carbon composites in making military aircraft, tanks and arms, Sundaresh said. “More particularly, we are also looking into temporary bridges made of carbon composites, which can be set up in just 10 minutes by our armymenm,” the official said. Intending to facilitate deep jungle and multi-terrain warfare of the Indian Army, Sundaresh said, “We are also looking into designing water-proof suits for the personnel posted in snow capped mountains, which would keep them away from wet terrains and harsh weather.” “All the pores in these suits would be closed when they are in wet terrain and they would open when they move to deserts,” he said. Asked about the missile launching range DRDO was planning to set up near Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Sundaresh said, “It will come up in the next two years. The site is ideal since the missile production units are in Hyderabad and it would be easy for us to transport.” DRDO’s missile testing facility at Wheeler Islands of Odisha coast was to be studied by various government agencies for the erosion it is suffering due to oceanic currents, Sundaresh said. Replying to another query, he said that the DRDO was focussing on cyber security applications, as most of the country’s armed forces are in a network and creating firewall to protect was paramount. Sundaresh, former director of Combat Vehicles Research and Development Organisation (CVRDE) which designed India’s Main Battle Tank (MBT) Arjun, also said the trend of decline in the number of youngsters joining the state-run research agency had stopped and stabilised after the revised pay announced by the Sixth Pay Commission. PTI