The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has achieved a major milestone in strengthening India’s self-reliance in advanced materials technology by transferring three cutting-edge defence-grade materials to industry partners.

This technology transfer, facilitated through the Licensing Agreement for Transfer of Technology (LAToT), was formally handed over by Dr. Samir V Kamat, Chairman DRDO and Secretary, Department of Defence R&D, at a ceremony organised on August 30 at DRDO’s Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL) in Hyderabad.

The event also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between DMRL and the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, aimed at leveraging DMRL’s world-class expertise in metallurgy and testing infrastructure to support aviation accident analysis and safety enhancement programs.

The three advanced materials technologies transferred reflect India’s growing mastery in strategic metallurgy and demonstrate DMRL’s critical role in bridging defence R&D and industrial manufacturing.

The first technology involves the manufacturing of high-strength Radomes, transferred to BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd.), Jagdishpur. Radomes are protective covers for sensitive seeker and guidance sensors used in missile systems, ensuring operational reliability under harsh aerodynamic and environmental conditions. By enabling indigenous manufacturing of high-quality Radomes, India has reduced its dependency on imports and strengthened the technological autonomy of its missile programs, including next-generation strategic and tactical systems.

This move is especially significant given the emphasis on precision-strike capabilities and integrated missile defence architectures like Mission Sudarshan Chakra, where advanced sensor protection plays an essential role.

The second technology transferred relates to DMR-1700 steel sheets and plates, handed over to JSPL (Jindal Steel and Power Ltd.), Angul. DMR-1700 is a specialised grade of ultra-high strength steel that also offers exceptional fracture toughness at room temperature, making it ideally suited for defence platforms such as armoured vehicles, missile launch canisters, and structural components in military systems.

The material represents years of indigenous metallurgical research to balance strength with resilience, ensuring survivability and robustness under combat stress conditions. Its successful transfer to a private industry leader like JSPL reflects DRDO’s strategic intent to broaden the ecosystem of Indian defence production beyond public sector entities.

The third technology involves DMR-249A High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) steel plates, transferred to SAIL-Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) for naval applications. DMR-249A is a proven material with optimised properties of strength, toughness, and weldability for warship construction.

Its stringent dimensional and metallurgical characteristics make it suitable for crafting critical components in naval vessels, including aircraft carriers, destroyers, and submarines.

By ensuring domestic availability of such specialised naval-grade steels, India strengthens its path toward Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in shipbuilding, supporting major projects like indigenous aircraft carrier programs, future destroyer classes, and stealth frigates. The transfer also enhances India’s ability to meet the growing demands of regional and blue-water naval operations, a critical element in the evolving Indo-Pacific security environment.

Dr. Samir V Kamat, while addressing the event, commended the relentless efforts of the scientists and engineers of DMRL whose sustained research has enabled these high-value technology breakthroughs. He praised the laboratory’s multidisciplinary expertise and its consistency in meeting critical national defence requirements.

Emphasising the collaborative nature of India’s defence R&D ecosystem, he highlighted how the partnership with industrial manufacturers like BHEL, JSPL, and SAIL would accelerate the scaling-up of these innovations, ensuring faster deployment into both strategic systems and commercial spin-offs.

By transferring know-how to established industrial leaders, DRDO ensures not only rapid production readiness but also the creation of a self-sustaining supply chain for high-performance materials, directly strengthening India’s defence industrial base.

This transfer marks a bold step in indigenous materials technology development for strategic and high-performance applications. It underscores DRDO’s long-term approach of maturing disruptive technologies within its research laboratories and then transferring them to capable industrial partners, thereby ensuring both technological sovereignty and industrial competitiveness.

The applications of these materials cut across diverse platforms — from missile systems and land armour to naval vessels and aerospace safety systems — thereby amplifying their strategic utility. Importantly, this initiative aligns closely with the Government of India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat vision, reinforcing the objective of reducing foreign dependence, creating manufacturing hubs within India, and boosting defence exports.

The successful transfer of these three advanced materials stands as a testament to India’s growing defence R&D capabilities and the institutional synergy between DRDO laboratories and Indian industry. Beyond serving immediate operational requirements, these technologies will play a transformative role in reshaping India’s defence manufacturing landscape, triggering downstream industrial innovation, and positioning India as a global player in advanced defence materials and systems.

Based On A PTI Report