Rs 4.94 lakh crore DRDO-developed weapon systems in Indian defence forces, says DRDO chief

New Delhi: Defence Research and Development Organisation chairman, Dr Samir V Kamat on Thursday said that nearly Rs 4.94 lakh crores worth of DRDO-developed products have either been inducted or have received the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) from the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC).
In an interview with ANI, the chief of DRDO said that over 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the inducted products are in the last five to seven years.
Approximately Rs 4.94 lakh crores worth of DRDO-developed products have either been inducted in defence or have received Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) from the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC)," Kamat said.
"The developments are now increasingly getting done much faster than earlier. My estimate is, more than 60 per cent or 70 per cent of the inducted products are in the last 5-7 years. This rate is going to increase dramatically as we go ahead," he added.
Speaking to ANI, the DRDO chief said that the first set of BrahMos missile systems is expected to reach Philippines by the end of March.
"The ground systems should be sent in the next 10 days, the missiles will hopefully go by March (to Philippines)," Kamat said.
BrahMos missiles export to the Philippines is the biggest ever defence export contract signed with any foreign country by India.
India had signed a deal with the Philippines worth USD 375 million in January 2022 for the supply of shore-based anti-ship variant of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile.
The BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile system is one of the most successful missile programmes in the world. As the world's best and fastest precision-guided weapon, BRAHMOS has fortified India's deterrence power in 21st century. Designed and developed by India-Russia JV entity BrahMos Aerospace, supersonic cruise missile BRAHMOS has continued to evolve as the most versatile weapon in its genre. The next generation variant of the missile has smaller, lighter and smarter dimensions designed for deployment on a wider number of modern military platforms.