India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has issued an expression of interest (EoI) inviting domestic private companies to serve as development-cum-production partners (DcPPs) for missile and bomb weapon system projects under its missiles and strategic systems cluster.
DRDO seeks private-sector partners for missile and bomb weapon system development
India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has issued an expression of interest (EoI) inviting domestic private companies to serve as development-cum-production partners (DcPPs) for missile and bomb weapon system projects under its missiles and strategic systems cluster.
The EoI states its objective is to identify and shortlist potential DcPPs for development and production of missile and bomb weapon system projects within the missiles and strategic systems cluster.
Under the proposed partnership model, selected companies would be required to meet DRDO's technical, manufacturing, and infrastructure requirements before being assigned production-related responsibilities. Shortlisted firms would subsequently be considered for project-specific requests for proposal.
A selected company may participate in development, assembly, and integration activities of a DRDO project, and may interact with a DRDO-identified supply chain to fulfil production orders from the three armed services. The EoI also states that industry partners may provide upgrades and integrated logistics support to the three services during a weapon's life cycle, subject to approval by the relevant DRDO laboratory.
The EoI specifies that a company's ability to handle bulk production of between 50 and 100 units will be evaluated on infrastructure, technical capabilities, and managerial manpower, and that eligible companies must have a minimum annual turnover of Rs 100 crore.
DRDO has previously transitioned systems including the Agni, Prithvi, and Akash missiles and the Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher into large-scale production through public and private sector partnerships. The initiative is framed within India's broader Atmanirbhar Bharat policy of expanding domestic defence production and reducing reliance on defence imports.
- The source does not state the number of companies expected to be shortlisted.
- The source does not specify which particular missile or bomb weapon system projects are covered by this EoI.
- The source does not state the deadline for submission of expressions of interest.
- The source does not state the financial value or contract size associated with the production orders.
- The source does not identify which specific DRDO laboratories will have approval authority over logistics support activities.
Read the original at The Times of India