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BEL to develop smart UAVs, says BEL Director in an exclusive interview
Bengaluru, June 03: Smart Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) flying out of the hangars of Defence Public Sector Undertaking Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) could be a striking possibility in future.
"We are already supporting the activities of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in their UAV missions. Many of our systems are on board the current UAVs being developed by the Aeronautics Development Establishment (ADE). We are looking for partners to take the idea forward," Dr Kalghatgi told OneIndia.
This is for the first time that a BEL official has gone on record announcing the Company's foray into the UAV segment, hitherto an area commanded by the DRDO. The DRDO has already developed Nishant UAV, while the Rustom-1 and Rustom-II projects running concurrently in various stages of development. The flight trials of Rustom-1, II are actively been undertaken in Kolar by ADE.
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) too had announced its interest in the UAV segment couple of years back. HAL had said in 2013 that a separate wing would be established for the UAV segment to cater to the needs of police and the paramilitary forces.
Dr Kalghatgi said that BEL will be entering the fray in the Medium Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) UAV segment. "It's in a very initial stage now," he added.
BEL Chairman and Managing Director S K Sharma said that the company is expecting additional orders for the Akash Missile System. To a specific query on the Akash Mk-II version, Sharma gave a vague reply.
He said BEL would set aside Rs 1500 crore for R&D in the next 3 years. "We are coming with a Greenfield Weapon Systems facility in Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh at a cost of Rs 500 crore. We have already acquired the land for the same," Sharma said.
He said a separate wing for Make in India has already started functioning in the Company.
Highlights of BEL's performance during last FY
•
Registered
a
growth
of
8
per
cent
during
2014-15
as
against
3%
in
2013-14
•
Exports
registered
a
growth
of
38%
•
BEL
has
an
order
book
of
around
Rs
21,600
crores
as
on
April
1,
2015
•
Turnover
from
indigenous
technology
was
around
80%
Some of the major orders received during last FY
•
L
70
gun
upgrade
•
Shakti
COMINT
Shipborne
EW
system
•
Mobile
Communication
Terminal
•
Hull
Mounted
Sonar
for
P15B
•
Advanced
Composite
Communication
•Combat
Management
System
for
P15
&
P16
Alpha
•
Radio
Relay
Frequency
•
Coastal
Surveillance
System
(Maldives)
(The writer is a seasoned aerospace and
defence journalist in India. He is the Consultant Editor (Defence) with OneIndia. He tweets @writetake.)
