New Products in Make-II Project | 07 Nov 2022

Why in News?

Recently, the Indian Army has approved five Project Sanction Orders (PSOs) for the development of niche technology by the Indian industry under the Make-II route of defence procurement.

What is the Make-II Project?

• About:
  • Make II projects are essentially industry funded projects involving design, development and innovative solutions by Indian vendors for development of prototypes.
  • 22 out of 43 projects are now in prototype development stage, which is 66% of projects by cost, ₹18,000 crore out of ₹27,000 crore.
• New Additions under the Project:
  • High Frequency Man Packed Software Defined Radios (HFSDR):
    • These radio sets will replace the existing High Frequency radio sets in the inventory, which have limited data handling capability and obsolete technology.
    • Light weight HFSDR will provide long distance radio communication through enhanced data capability and band width coupled with enhanced security
  • Drone Kill Systems:
    • Drone kill system is a hard kill anti-drone system against low Radio Cross Section drones.
    • It is being developed to function in all types of terrains, both during day and night.
  • Infantry Training Weapon Simulator (IWTS):
    • It is the first triservice Make-II project with the Army as the lead service.
  • Medium Range Precision Kill Systems (MRPKS):
    • The MRPKS, once launched can ‘Loiter’ in the air for upto two hours and can acquire, designate and engage real time high value targets upto 40 km.
  • 155 mm Terminally Guided Munitions (TGM)

What is the ‘Make’ Category of Capital Acquisition?

• The ‘Make’ category of capital acquisition is the cornerstone of the Make in India initiative that seeks to build indigenous capabilities through the involvement of both public and private sector.
• ‘Make-I’ refers to government-funded projects while ‘Make-II’ covers industry-funded programmes.
  • Make-I is involved in development of big-ticket platforms such as light tank and communication equipment with Indian security protocols.
  • Make-II category involves prototype development of military hardware or its upgrade for import substitution for which no government funding is provided.
• Another sub-category under ‘Make’ is ‘Make-III’ that covers military hardware that may not be designed and developed indigenously, but can be manufactured in the country for import substitution, and Indian firms may manufacture these in collaboration with foreign partners.

What are the other Initiatives to Boost Domestic Production of Defence Equipment?

• Defence Industrial Corridors
• Corporatization of the Ordnance Factory Boards
• Defence India Startup Challenge
• Draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020
• Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX)
• Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti

Source: TH