DRDO (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci and Tech)

Context: Recently, DRDO celebrated the 66th Foundation Day of its establishment.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

• About: It is dedicated to empowering India with cutting-edge defence technologies. Its mission is to achieve self-reliance in critical defence technologies and systems.
• Formation: Established in 1958 through the amalgamation of existing entities, including the Technical Development Establishment (TDEs) and the Directorate of Technical Development & Production (DTDP).
• Headquarters: New Delhi.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Defence.
• Focus: DRDO operates a network of laboratories spanning aeronautics, armaments, electronics, land combat engineering, life sciences, materials, missiles, and naval systems.
• Major Projects

oProject Indigo: DRDO's initial venture into surface-to-air missiles faced limited success and was subsequently discontinued.

oRustom 2 - Heavy-Duty Drone: In 2016, DRDO successfully tested its first indigenously developed heavy-duty drone, Rustom 2, designed as an unmanned armed combat vehicle similar to the US's Predator drone.

oINS Arihant - Nuclear Ballistic Missile Submarine: DRDO played a key role in co-developing INS Arihant, India's first nuclear ballistic missile submarine, which became operational in 2018.