Indian Navy to soon deploy 'Made in India' firefighting bots on INS Vikrant & Vikramaditya

In a big boost to making the defence sector of India self-reliant, the Indian Navy will soon deploy indigenously built firefighting bots on its largest warships including the aircraft carriers INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya. 

Talking about the initiatives taken in the Indian Navy under the ‘Make in India’ project, Navy Vice Chief Vice Admiral SN Ghormade on the sidelines of Aero India 2023 said, “I was confident that the Navy would be able to fulfil a promise made to the Prime Minister on indigenous projects.”

“The Honourable Prime Minister launched 75 challenges. We have really expedited and done this job. We had thought that if we have to achieve success, we have to do things differently. We have made our procedures simple so that we can take these cases ahead. We are sure that by August 15, we would achieve our target as promised to Prime Minister Modi,” Navy Vice Chief Vice Admiral said.

The development came in view of the Indian Navy’s efforts toward inducting game-changing technologies in the field of defence. He also exemplified the blue-green laser technology which is used to detect underwater vessels and objects. 

Defence Minister announces launch of DISC

Speaking at the ‘Bandhan’ and Valedictory Ceremony of Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru on Day 3 of the Aero India conclave, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced the launch of Defense India Start-up Challenge-DISC-9. He further informed that the Ministry of Defence has also approved a simplified and fast-track procedure for procurement from iDEX start-ups and MSMEs. 

Talking about making India Atmanirbhar, Singh said, “Today, after 75 years of independence, we have got an opportunity to move forward on the path of 'Design our Destiny'. iDEX has helped many home-grown technologies to develop and move forward. It has introduced hundreds of innovators to the market.”

Meanwhile, during the inaugural ceremony of Aero India 2023 on February 13, Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed that India aims to triple the annual defence exports to USD 5 billion by 2024-2025. “Today, India is not just a market for defence companies, it is also a potential defence partner,” he added.