Indigenisation Push: DRDO Awards Contracts To 7 Startups

In an effort to boost the indigenous surveillance capabilities of armed forces, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has sanctioned seven new projects to startups across defence and aerospace sectors.

The projects were sanctioned under the Ministry of Defence’s Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme aimed at bolstering domestic defence manufacturing.

“Providing impetus to Aatmanirbharta, Defence Research & Development Organisation has awarded seven new projects to industries under the Technology Development Fund scheme for various requirements of the armed forces, aerospace and defence sectors,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

From underwater-launched unmanned aerial vehicles (ULUAVs) to long-range remotely operated detection vehicles, the sanctioned projects will enable the development of several key military assets.

Here is a list of the startups that were awarded projects by the DRDO to strengthen the military industrial ecosystem.

Oxygen 2 Innovation

Founded in 2016 by Ashok Singhal, Abhinav Singhal, Kalpana Singhal and Ben Singleton, Oxygen 2 Innovation develops augmented- and virtual reality-based simulators for combat aviation training. It also designs and manufactures robotic vehicles, 3D printers and drones.

The Noida-based startup has bagged a project from the DRDO for development of an indigenous toolkit for simulator training of pilots in realistic scenarios.

Sagar Defence Engineering

Founded in 2015 by Nikunj Parashar, Sagar Defence Engineering manufactures products across three categories — drones, aircraft and unmanned marine surface vehicle (UMSV). 

The Mumbai-based startup has been awarded the project for ULUAVs – the first of its kind in the country – aimed at developing battlefield accessories that can be deployed in various combat roles.

EyeROV Technologies

Founded by IIT alumni Johns T Mathai and Kannappa Palaniappan in 2016, EyeROV manufactures indigenous underwater drones, remotely operated vehicles, unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) and underwater cameras that have use cases in search and rescue, research, defence and aquaculture.

The Kochi-based startup has clinched the DRDO’s project to develop long-range remotely operated vehicles that will enable detection, classification, localisation and neutralisation of underwater objects while keeping key assets away from the suspected operational area. 

Craftlogic Labs

Founded in 2018 by Kannan Raman Natrajan, Craftlogic Labs builds visual computing and artificial intelligence solutions for small and medium automotive and optical original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

The Bengaluru-based startup has bagged a project from the DRDO for the development of ice detection sensor for aircraft.

“The project aims to develop detecting icing condition inflight, caused by supercooled water droplets that freezes after their impact against the aircraft external surfaces and is utilised by the aircraft for turning on the aircraft anti-icing mechanism,” the ministry said.

Data Patterns

Founded in 1998 by Srinivasagopalan Rangarajan, Indus Teqsite Private Limited rebranded as Data Patterns in 2021, growing beyond being a boutique operator to a defence and aerospace electronics solutions provider. 

The Chennai-based startup manufactures, sells and services defence electronics with its product portfolio comprising radar and radar subsystems, avionic systems, cockpit and rugged displays and electronic warfare among others.

The DRDO has awarded the project to this startup for manufacturing of radar signal processor with active antenna array simulator. “The project will enable the deployment of multiple target systems for test and evaluation of multiple short range aerial weapon system. It serves as the basic building block for larger radar systems,” as per the defence ministry.

Accord Software & Systems

Founded by JM Sundaresan, S Purushotham, V Narayanasamy, Raghavendra Shenoy Manur and R Devanathan in 1991, Accord offers software and hardware engineering services and products, covering areas such as avionics, global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and real time embedded systems.

The Bengaluru-based startup has bagged a contract to develop Indian regional navigation satellite system-based timing acquisition system and dissemination system. 

Aloha Tech Ventures

Aloha Tech Ventures supplies software and hardware-related products to cater to industries such as mobility and logistics, textiles and manufacturing. The Coimbatore-based startup has bagged a project for the development of Graphene-based smart and e-textiles for multifunctional wearable applications.