“The more you sweat in research, The less you will bleed in war”
A country has every right to choose its friends but has to live with its neighbours. For India, defending its frontiers is a very difficult task given the fact that it shares around 15,200 km of its border with its neighbours and has a 7,500 km long coastline. To make matters all the worse, all its neighbours are either hostile or turbulent. Pakistan switches between dictatorship and democracy every now and then and considers India to be its arch-rival, a communist China has huge military ambitions in South Asia; Nepal and Bangladesh have turbulent political conditions; Afghanistan is still under Taliban influence; and Sri Lanka is reeling under LTTE attacks. For a country that has so many security implications, India has made great strides in defence. Since its inception in 1958, DRDO with its 51 laboratories, has armed the country with missiles, tanks, torpedoes, and nuclear weapons. In such a short span of time, it has defied so many naysayers, crossed many barriers, and earned a reputation for itself.
CHALLENGES AT THE HOME FRONT
The development of technology is a journey that has many steps: there has to be a conviction that the technology is needed; it is followed by the realisation that the technology can be developed; identification of the different steps that are needed to develop it; and finally, working on those steps. Take, for example, missile development. During the 1980s, China was not only developing missiles but also assisting Pakistan to do the same. Also, after the successful nuclear explosion in 1974, some mechanism was needed to deliver nuclear weapons. So the need for developing missiles was felt, and an Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) was conceived under the able leadership of Dr. APJ Kalam. And soon the country embarked on the ambitious journey of developing Prithvi, Agni, Akash, Trishul, and Nag missiles. DRDO scientists started working on hitherto unknown technologies like cryogenic engines, solid and liquid propulsion, inertial navigation systems, etc. A large number of DRDO laboratories worked together and helped India achieve self-reliance in missile technology. This programme enabled India to have a strike range of up to 3000 km and the capability to hit land and air targets.
Any significant system is actually a combination of many technologies. So in order to develop a single defence system, many technologies need to be mastered. DRDO has divided its laboratories into two basic categories: system laboratories and science laboratories. There are system laboratories for missiles, aircraft, tanks, and other vehicles; that integrate the different components developed by the science laboratories. This way, the complexity of large systems is divided into easy-to-achieve parts. The science laboratories research electronic components, sensors, materials, software, and other significant components of large systems. This approach has reaped a rich harvest in the form of missiles, rockets, ammunition, and tanks.
India is perhaps the only country that has such a large diversity in climatic conditions and terrains. In the north there are snow-capped peaks; in the west lies the desertic Thar; in the North-East are hills and lush forest cover; and in the north there are vast Gangetic plains. Developing defence equipment that serves well in such varied situations is indeed a very challenging task. They should have wide operating temperatures and pressures. MBT Arjun, Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers, and INSAS rifles are excellent examples of this versatile operability.
Technology is researched in laboratories, but it is in industries that it takes its final form. There are a good number of defence PSUs like BEL, BHEML, HAL, BDL, and ordnance factories that are striving to make the country self-reliant. DRDO and these units are working in tandem and giving physical shape to the researched equipment. The private defence sector is still in its infancy. We have companies like L&T, Godrej Defence, and Tata that have made great strides in their respective areas of specialisation, but still, most of the private companies are importers of defence equipment. Proper incentives should be given to nurture the private defence sector. Countries like Israel, the USA, and Russia have a large number of private industries like MIG, Lockheed Martin, and Raefel, which not only cater to national needs but are also big exporters of defence equipment. Nowadays, DRDO has also started collaborating with private industries. Tatra trucks, for example, have been researched by DRDO but are being built by Tata. Many defence projects are being divided into sub-projects and outsourced to the private sector and academic institutions.
DRDO is researching in so many areas, from bridges to tanks and from aircraft to missiles. Working on so many areas with the strength of only around 6,000 scientists is by no means an easy task. Still, DRDO has successfully developed many products. But now the time has come when we should restrict ourselves to some strategic areas like stealth, radar, and missiles only so that all the energies can be channelled and diverted in a focused direction. Making juices, mosquito repellents, and uniforms may have been necessary at some point in time, but not now. In its eleventh five-year plan, DRDO has decided to restrict itself to some strategic areas only.
Plugging the Technological Loopholes
The pace at which technology changes is very fast and often mind-boggling. Most of the research that is being done today will bear fruit in the next five or more years, and if there are any delays, the products developed will be technologically obsolete. The research that is being done should be completed within the stipulated time. The products should have a short development cycle but a long shelf life. Many of the defence projects like MBT Arjun, LCA, etc. are already suffering from cost and time overruns, so by the time these products are ready for induction into the armed forces, the technology employed may become obsolete.
Technological research is all about technical equipment and manpower. One needs to recruit the best people, nurture them, and retain them. Nowadays, DRDO is experiencing high attrition among its young scientists, with job frustration at its peak. India has one of the largest pools of technical people and engineers. Research jobs should be such that they attract these people. A better work environment, higher perks, and freedom to work can facilitate the retention of talent. To complete the projects on time, most of the non-classified work can be outsourced to the private sector, while the scientists should be more managers and facilitators. The manpower involved in defence research should be exposed to niche areas of technology by permitting them to go abroad for training and conferences.
Technology development comes at a high price. It needs infrastructure development—buildings need to be erected, equipment needs to be purchased, and salaries need to be paid. DRDO gets a meagre six percent of the total defence budget, but it is still responsible for more than thirty percent of defence self-reliance. More funds need to be diverted towards research. There are multiple means to achieve it: foreign collaborations, government funding, money generated through exports, and public-private partnerships (PPP).
The product’s development should have a futuristic outlook. Research should not only cater to present needs but also anticipate and develop equipment for future needs like aircraft carriers and stealth aircraft. DRDO is working on products that will be of immense use in the near future. Working on future technologies offers first-movers an advantage, but it also has many unseen traps. The products developed should be such that they can be easily upgraded so that they continue to be of use. Research is a field fraught with failures, and success is an elusive event. When a particular endeavour fails, it should be ascertained whether it is the failure of the product or the technology. Many projects that have failed delivery have been abandoned, but only after taking up some new technologies, that were developed therein, that can be used in future projects.
It is a well-known fact that Indian defence products are comparatively cheaper than their foreign counterparts. So other developing countries and even developed ones are interested in these products. So there is a huge export market that is lying untapped and that, if utilised, will reap great foreign exchange in the defence sector, thus overcoming the current financial crunch. Indian defence products have been showcased in many countries, and they have generated enough interest.
India is one of the biggest importers of defence equipment, particularly sensors, aircraft, tanks, etc. Goods are imported without much transfer of technological know-how. The licenced production of the imported equipment does not help much in increasing the technical knowledge base. The imported goods can be reverse-engineered to know the details so that they can be indigenously developed.
India should develop strategic defence ties with leaders in military hardware and software like the US, Israel, France, and Russia. The technical shortcomings of India can be overcome with technical collaborations with these countries. In a given project, the critical components should be identified well in advance, and the grey areas in which technical expertise is lacking can be strengthened by seeking solutions from other countries. The relationship should mature from one of ‘buy and sell’ to one of ‘joint development’. In recent times, India has entered into joint development of critical systems with other countries. With Russia it is working on fifth-generation fighter aircraft; Israel and India are jointly developing Barak-II missiles; and so on. India and Russia have already successfully developed the Brahmos supersonic cruise missile, and many countries have expressed interest in it. When the relationship is one of buyer and seller, there are hiccups from time to time, as was witnessed post Pokharan. Once India conducted peaceful atomic explosions in 1998, several critical projects suffered due to denials and sanctions.
Whenever sanctions have been imposed, Indian scientists have scaled newer heights. All the nuclear states have always denied critical technologies like implosion triggers, nuclear fuel, etc., especially for nuclear bombs. But that never deterred India from going ahead and developing these things on its own. One of the most important fields in which India never got the much-sought support of the developed nations is missiles. DRDO has successfully developed Agni, Prithvi, Akash, and Nag missiles that involve critical technologies like atmospheric re-entry, navigation, and propulsion. Most of the components in these missiles have been developed indigenously. The Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher is a glaring example of Indian technology exemplified.
Conclusion
India has developed a formidable position in defence technology in spite of sanctions from developed nations, hostile neighbours, and a scarcity of infrastructure. It has been armed with critical defence technologies developed indigenously thanks to the efforts of its scientists and technical manpower. Many technological barriers have been overcome, but there are still new heights to be scaled. This is best summed up in the following lines by Robert Frost:
“I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.”