Our presence at Seoul is an opportunity for building technology partnerships for R&D and manufacture, and for creating export potential. Indian systems and defence manufacturing capability have matured.
We want to project not just the DRDO, but all of India’s emerging defence capabilities. $26 billion worth equipment based on DRDO’s technologies are being produced” said Avinash Chander, scientific Advisor to defence minister and secretary, Department of Defence R&D, Ministry of Defence, Government of India. He was speaking at the Indo-Korean Defence Summit organised as part of the International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition ADEX-2013, at KINTEX, Seoul, from October 29 to November 3. “Indian and Korean capabilities can be complemented to produce advanced cutting edge defence systems. DRDO plans to present its strengths at the Summit as well as at the DRDO Korean Defence Industry meet slated for October 31 and explore the prospects of industrial cooperation between the two countries in defence. Such cooperation has grown significantly in automobile, electronic manufacturing and other engineering systems”, he added. “We should harness the full potential of our two economies to impart even greater depth and dynamism to it. India is witnessing a boom of entrepreneurship and innovation, economic liberalisation and availability of scientific and technical talent.The opportunities are plenty for expanding the defence partnership as India seeks to build its defence production capabilities with a greater role for the private sector. DRDO has a very pragmatic view and supportive of co-development and co-production with friendly foreign countries by sharing of cost, expertise and technologies”, said Chander.
ADEX 2013 is a major international exhibition of aerospace and defence systems. More than 330 exhibitors from 33 countries are participating in the event. India is displaying state-of-the-art DRDO systems at an international event for the very first time. Some of the major products/systems on display are Akash-Air Defence System, Tejas-light Combat Aircraft and its variants, expandable high speed aerial target-Abhyas, Airborne Early Warning and Control system-AEW&C, advanced radars, sonar and communication system. Also on display is the Explosive Detection Kit (EDK) developed by DRDO and already being produced in India that was recently launched in USA after the technology for its manufacture was transferred to an American firm.A large number of products developed by DRDO and produced by Indian Industry including those being displayed at ADEX-2013, have immense export potential.
Vishnu Prakash, Ambassador of India to South Korea, Moon Ki Jung, director general, Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), Korea, Parth Sharma, Vice Chairman, Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea and A Sivathanu Pillai, DS & CC R&D DRDO and CEO Brah Mos also spoke at the summit. Present amongst the gathering were Rahul Chaudhry, CEO, Tata Power SED, Mr MM Handa, GM, Missile Systems, Bharat Electronics, Jayant Patil, Vice President, l&T, Col Ajay Chandpuria, Defence Attache, Embassy of India to Korea and S Radhakrishnan of DRDO.