DRDO to develop technologies to fight terrorists, insurgents

21/02/2010
DRDO to develop technologies to fight terrorists, insurgents
New Delhi: Against the backdrop of increasing terror threats and insurgency, the DRDO on Saturday said it has ventured into technologies to support security forces in operations, including against nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) attacks.

DRDO chief V K Saraswat said his organisation has opened a Low Intensity Conflict (LIC) Division that would cater to weapons, equipment and life support systems for the paramilitary and police forces.

"Most of the wars in the 20th century are low-intensity conflicts, sub-conventional war, asymmetric warfare, counter-insurgency, and terrorism. These are going to be the emerging battle scenario. It is going to be the order of the day for the next 100 years.

"DRDO now has very focused programmes on technologies for low-intensity conflicts, which includes NBC weapons," Saraswat said at a media interaction on the eve of a three-day DRDO Director's Conference here.

He said the DRDO also launched another LIC-related programme with soldier-centric technologies with his "survivability, sustainability, efficiency and lethality" as the focus areas.

"For Futuristic Indian Soldier as a System (F-INSAS), we need technology for his armour, communication, psychological profile, life support, battle scenario devices, scanning devices and grenades. It will be a concerted programme," DRDO Chief Controller Dr W Selvamurthy, who was present, said.

"Most of these technologies are spin-offs. We already have technologies from our strategic weapons programme, which can be customised for LIC needs," Saraswat said.

Asked if the shift in focus would impact the DRDO's strategic weapons programme, he said it would not be so. This would be an incremental work to help the nation to achieve self-reliance in this niche area too, he added.

"Both (strategic and LIC programmes) are important. Strategic weapons, you cannot get from anywhere else. Nobody will give you the technology. It has to be developed internally. Most of the LIC technologies are also important," Saraswat added.

The DRDO chief said his organisation was a technology provider. "We (DRDO) identify in consultation with the Home Ministry as well as others, if there are gaps in certain areas such as foliage penetration or ground penetration, communication, jamming and communication interception systems, we would work on them and provide solutions," he added.

Asked if there were plans to dump the indigenous INSAS 5.56 mm rifle, the DRDO chief said there were no problems and the feedback received from troops suggested that the weapons were performing satisfactorily.

"The problems faced by troops must be a local perception nature, by some individual. But it is not a general perception," he said.

Source: The Indian Express
DRDO to develop technologies to fight terrorists, insurgents