Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugrates warhead, RF seeker facility in Telangana

Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) launches its brand new state-of-the-art RF Seeker facility in Telangana

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday attended the inaugural function of new facilities at Bharat Dynamics Limited in Telangana’s Bhanur. Addressing the event, Rajnath Singh said the new facilities are testament to the commitment towards strengthening of the defence sector.

The new facilities include a warhead facility at the Bhanur Unit and a Radio Frequency (RF) seeker facility at the Kanchanbagh unit. The RF seeker facility is an integrated centre for production and testing of RF seekers. The seeker is a critical and technology intensive subsystem which will be used in all future missiles for target tracking. This facility has been established with an investment of Rs 50 crore.

The defence minister further underlined the importance of developing a long-term partnership between defence manufacturing organisations and academic institutions.

“This long-term collaboration will help academia to work on core technological problems and assist R&D institutions to move from theoretical analysis to conversion into actual products. It will be a win-win situation and give a boost to the defence eco-system of the country,” he said.

“We studied the defence systems of many countries and finalised our plan by aligning these findings with our ground realities. The Indian Air Force has received a large number of applications under the Agnipath. Similar response is expected in the other services as well. Our youth should come forward and take advantage of this golden opportunity to serve the country,” Rajnath Singh said on the new military recruitment scheme — Agnipath.

The defence minister also spoke of other reforms such as creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff, establishment of Department of Military Affairs, increasing private sector participation in defence production and the launch of the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative. He further urged all stakeholders to enhance their preparedness, invest more in R&D and expand by exploring the international market.