Satheesh Reddy Hails Rise Of Defence Manufacturing
Former DRDO chief G. Satheesh Reddy said India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem has matured, with domestic firms now producing advanced weapon systems.
India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem has “come of age”, with domestic companies now producing missiles, bombs and guns, former DRDO chairman Dr G. Satheesh Reddy said on Wednesday.
Satheesh Reddy, former defence R&D secretary and now president of the Aeronautical Society of India, was speaking after inaugurating Raghava Aerospace & Defence Pvt Ltd (RADPL) at Kokapet. He said private industry accounts for about 40 per cent of partners in defence manufacturing.
“The Government of India has earmarked ₹1.39 lakh crore of the defence budget for indigenous manufacturing under Atma Nirbhar Bharat,” he said, calling it a clear opportunity for Indian industry. He noted India has moved from being an importer to an exporter, citing Armenia’s Republic Day parade where three Indian weapon systems were showcased.
Congratulating RADPL, Satheesh Reddy urged the company to focus on exports as well as domestic manufacturing.
RADPL works in R&D, electronic system design and composites for aerospace, defence and homeland security. Its Hyderabad facilities include clean rooms, RF and microwave test infrastructure, ESD‑controlled labs and composite manufacturing lines with autoclave, CNC tape winding, hydraulic press and testing systems.
The company said its team has over 200 man‑years of engineering experience across 10 defence programmes. It has expanded through five acquisitions covering electronic warfare, missile RF systems, embedded systems, power electronics and composite structures.
RADPL also announced a joint venture with Peridot Advanced Materials for the MALE‑300 programme, a fully indigenous medium‑altitude, long‑endurance ISR unmanned aircraft with a 300‑kg payload bay, 30‑hour endurance and 30,000‑foot operating altitude.
Managing director Likhith Reddy Ponguleti said the company would scale proven indigenous capability in RF, telemetry, embedded systems and composites into production and carry it to export markets.
