At North Tech Symposium, Defence Minister stressed the urgent need for India to accelerate innovation in cutting-edge defence technologies in emerging domains.
Emerging domains of Defense Technology
- Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs): Ranged weapons that use concentrated electromagnetic energy like lasers, microwaves, or particle beams, rather than kinetic energy.
- Hypersonic weapons Systems: Include Hypersonic Glide Vehicles (HGVs) and Hypersonic Cruise Missiles (HCMs) operating at speeds exceeding Mach 5 and altering their flight paths mid-course which makes their interception extremely difficult.
- E.g., Russia's Oreshnik Hypersonic missile.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): For cyber defence (detecting anomalies and countering intrusions), predictive maintenance (assessing aircraft component health to reduce downtime), and sophisticated training simulations.
- Quantum Technologies:
- Quantum computers to optimize complex military logistics and supply chains.
- Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) to enable secure, un-hackable communications with instant detection of interception.
- Quantum sensors to enhance detection of submarines, sea mines, stealth vehicles, and underground bunkers.
Government Initiatives for emerging Defence Technology
- iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence): To foster innovation & indigenisation in defence and aerospace.
- ADITI (Acing Development of Innovative Technologies with iDEX): To develop 30 critical deep-tech and strategic technologies to reduce import dependence.
- Technology Development Fund (TDF) Scheme: It funds industries, MSMEs, startups, and academic institutions to develop indigenous defence and dual-use technologies.
- Institutional Framework for AI: Through Defence AI Council (DAIC) and Defence AI Project Agency (DAIPA).
- Hypersonic Weapons Development: E.g., ‘Dhvani’ Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (indigenous model).
