Hyderabad: The procurement of foreign weapons and electronic components for IAF aircraft and helicopters by Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) has dropped from 52 per cent in 2014-15 to 41 per cent. The purchase of foreign weaponry and products by Indian defence R&D agencies has fallen from 29 to 23 per cent.
These figures indicate that India is moving towards indigenisation in the defence sector, defence production secretary Ajay Kumar.
He was speaking at a talk hosted by the Aeronautical Society of India-Hyderabad headed by DRDO chairman Dr G. Satheesh Reddy: Cyber security becoming the 4th dimension in warfare and challenges faced by the defence sector.
Mr Kumar said cybersecurity was one of the biggest challenges. “The best way to curb cyber intrusion is through indigenisation. As long as the country depends on weapons and components made by a foreign country, the fear of malware will prevail,” he said.
Foreign manufacturers would always retain strategic and cyber control over the products.
