Jan 19, 2015
Delay in its projects leading to a steep escalation in cost has proved to be the bane of the DRDO. The delays have led to the country being left with no option but to equip the armed forces with expensive foreign equipment.
A report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on defence tabled in Parliament just last month let the cat out of the bag.
“The committee notes that there are about 530 ongoing projects in different DRDO labs and out of them 136 are in mission mode. Some of these include Agni IV, Agni V, Nirbhay cruise missile, K-15, Nag, Astra, AWACS, Arjun main battle tank, Tejas light combat aircraft, etc. The committee also note that out of 44 major ongoing projects (more than Rs 100 crore), there have been cost revisions and time revision in case of eight and 12 projects respectively. Besides, 10 projects are more than five years old i.e. sanctioned before 2009. Eighteen major projects (more than Rs 50 crore) were sanctioned during the 10th Five Year Plan (April 2002 to March 2007) but none has yet been completed. Two of them have been closed, five are awaiting closure and one under evaluation.
Out of 43 major projects (more than Rs 50 crore) initiated during the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12) none has reached completion.”“The committee notes that many projects including development of cargo ammunition, development of GPS based system as an alternative to fire direction radar, development of 30 mm fair weather towed AD gun system, development of 30 mm light towed AD gun system have been closed thus wasting a considerable amount of public money.”
A few years ago, the then Parliamentary Standing Committee had observed, “The committee is of the view that the delays in development of weapon systems, MBT Arjun, LCA II, Integrated Guide Missile Development Programme i.e. Prithvi, Akash, Trishul, Nag and Agni, Kaveri engine for the LCA etc., not only has caused significant loss of revenue but also delayed the timely procurement of weapon systems from foreign sources that were needed to keep the forces fighting fit and modernised.”
The Arjun was one of DRDO’s main “indigenous” projects, cleared by the government over four decades ago, in 1974. But the inordinate delay in its execution meant that the cost escalated from about `15 crore in 1974 to `306 crore a decade ago, drawing severe criticism for the DRDO.
The Army too was unhappy with the tanks during trials, citing several flaws such as “failure of power packs, low accuracy and consistency, failure of hydropneumatic suspension units, shearing of top rollers and chipping of gun barrels. But in the past few years, the DRDO has made several improvements and modifications that has resulted in the Army accepting 124 Arjun MBTs. The DRDO is also developing the more improved Mark-II version of the tank.
Despite the “indigenous” tag for the Arjun MBT, the “powerpack consisting of engine and transmission” had been imported from Germany. The troubles didn’t end there. The government had admitted earlier that the German MTU 838 Ka-501 engine fitted on the Arjun has also given some problems during the trials, and that “help had been sought from Germany to rectify the defects.”
The government had earlier come out with this justification for importing the engine: “Few countries in the world are capable of designing and developing of engines for aircraft and tank. These are exceptionally complex technologies and involve many disciplines and vast industrial base and capabilities.”
Another crucial delay has been in the light combat aircraft Tejas which has still not received the final operational clearance for induction into the Indian Air Force. It was handed over to the IAF with initial operational clearance-II on Saturday. The final clearance is expected in December next.
The development of the LCA which started in 1983 showed massive time and cost overruns. Delays have been attributed to factors such as “complexity of system design and very high safety standards leading to extensive testing to ensure flight safety.”
A major controversy had broken out over the “non-availability” of the indigenous Kaveri engine due to which design changes were made to accommodate the GE404 engine of the USA.
The DRDO had initiated the project for design and development of the aero-engine way back in 1989 for a combat aircraft. The government had earlier admitted that “full objectives have not been achieved, like desired thrust”.
The government has also said that the LCA Mk-II requires a higher thrust class engine, and has chosen the GE-F414 engine. Both engines are imported from General Electric, USA.
So what happens to the Kaveri engine? The government has said that the engine development programme is continuing and its dry variant will power the UAV.
Bomb sniffer heads for U.S.
Amid the criticism that the DRDO faces for its big-ticket failures, the organisation’s 52 labs have notched up quite a few successes. Among them is a low-cost explosive detection kit that can sniff out traces of explosives. It is being used by the police and BSF. One such kit could be sold in the US.
Apart from armour and electronic weaponry, the DRDO is working on high-tech ‘directed energy’ weapons. Also on the list are space security, cyber security and hypersonic vehicles.
The DRDO’s hand-held laser dazzler, which can disorient adversaries 50 metres away, is also said to be ready.
The DRDO started out with 10 labs in 1958, and has 52 laboratories and establishments. It manufactures everything from food items to battle tanks, combat aircraft and nuclear-capable missiles. This has prompted suggestions that it must focus on “critical technologies.”
With a Rs 15,282-crore budget, the DRDO’s labs are working on 530 projects. The value of its output that has been inducted into the services stands at over `1.74 lakh crore.
In 2010, the UPA-2 government created seven technology clusters headed by directors-general. Some labs with similar public-funded institutions were merged to make the DRDO leaner and meaner. The DRDO, with 7,809 scientists, saw 361 scientists quitting between 2009 and 2014.
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