DRDO Chairman G Satheesh Reddy awarded honorary fellowship by Royal Aeronautical Society

Chairman of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) G Satheesh Reddy was awarded the honorary fellowship by the Royal Aeronautical Society of United Kingdom on Tuesday. G Satheesh Reddy was recognised for his contributions towards indigenous design, development and deployment of diversified missile systems, aerospace vehicles, guided weapons and avionics technologies in India by the Royal Aeronautical Society. According to a statement by the Royal Aeronautical Society, Reddy is the first Indian recipient of the prestigious award in over 100 years.

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"Dr Reddy spearheaded Mission Shakti, the country's first Anti-Satellite Missile Test (ASAT) mission which demonstrated extremely high degree of precision and technological prowess, enabling India join a select group of four nations with such capability. He bolstered the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) programme and successfully demonstrated missile interception capabilities at high altitudes," said a release by the Royal Aeronautical Society.  

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Agni-II's successful launch by DRDO

"He led the development of advanced avionics and achieved a streak of successful missions of long-range Agni 5 strategic missile. His R&D contributions have made India self-reliant in Missiles and Avionics technologies," said the statement. On the night of November 16, the DRDO had successfully conducted the first night trial of Agni-II. The Agni-II is a versatile surface-to-surface medium-range nuclear-capable missile. The missile was launched from Dr. Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha. The 2,000 plus km range surface to surface missile has already been inducted and is part of countries arsenal for strategic deterrence. Agni-II is part of the Agni series of missiles which includes 700-km range Agni-I, 3,000-km range Agni-III, Agni-IV and Agni-V. 

"Dr Reddy is known for his vision and capability to develop indigenous technologies and is famous amongst students as "Junior Kalam" and 'Next Generation Missile Man" due to his knack on advanced technologies," the society said. Dr Satheesh Reddy has received numerous awards including AIAA Missile Systems Award, National Aeronautical Prize, National Systems Gold Medal, National Design Award, IEI-IEEE (USA) award for engineering excellence, Homi J Bhabha Gold Medal and Technology Leadership Award. In June 2015, he was also appointed as a scientific adviser to the Defence Minister of India. 

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Rajnath Singh addresses the DRDO summit

Addressing the DRDO Industry Synergy Summit 2019 at Hyderabad through video conferencing on Saturday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had appreciated DRDO nurturing more than 1,800 industries which are actively working together to produce defence systems."Raksha Mantri appreciated that DRDO has nurtured more than 1,800 industries which are actively working together to produce defence systems. He asked the DRDO and industry to explore new ways for enhancing synergy to achieve the goal of self-sufficiency," a government press release said. Singh also said that defence public sector units (DPSUs), industry, research institutes and armed forces need to work in tandem to achieve the target of incorporating at least 25 artificial intelligence-based products into defence in near future. 

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(With Agency Inputs)