Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar visited Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Missile Complex during his visit to Hyderabad on January 16, 2017. He visited the integration centre at Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and reviewed ongoing missile technologies and related programmes. Dr S. Christopher, Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development and Chairman DRDO, alongwith Dr G. Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister and Director General, Missiles and Strategic Systems, briefed the Defence Minister on various technological developments.

Defence Minister Parrikar congratulated all DRDO, scientists for the recent successful missions including smart anti-airfield weapon, long-range ballistic missiles Agni-V and Agni-IV, guided Pinaka and Astra. He complimented the missile complex for indigenising various technology products and strengthening the defence industrial base in the country.

The Defence Minister said, “There is lot of knowledge and infrastructure base with the DRDO and the same needs to be tapped by the MSME and private industries which in turn will lead towards the establishment of a self-reliant defence industrial ecosystem in our country. Today, the industries are significantly contributing in the realisation of various defence products with the know-how provided by the DRDO and few of them have even graduated as lead integrators. The partnership between the DRDO and industries is transforming our country into a global defence manufacturing hub. This synergy has provided the much-needed thrust for exporting our defence products globally. We are taking necessary initiatives in this direction and I am sure that our state-of-the-art missiles and weapon systems will garner the much-needed interest in the global markets and generate foreign exchange.”