New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on August 13 launched several weapon systems. Different factories of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) will develop the weapon systems. This step is a major part of the Atma-Nirbhar Week program.
Rajnath Singh stated that India cannot depend on defense imports from overseas suppliers and foreign governments. To meet India’s requirements of military platforms self-reliance in the Defence sector is very crucial. The Defence Minister made the statement after launching several new Defence products. The products were brought out by several Defence public sector undertakings and OFB.
At the program in Delhi, Rajnath Singh remotely launched the Namica. Namica is a missile launching platform for the Third-Generation anti-tank ‘fire and forget’ missile “Nag”.
He also launched the new 8.6X70mm sniper rifle developed by Ishapore Rifle Factory. A dual caliber anti-material rifle, an upgraded thermal imager-cum-day-sight for T-90 tanks was also launched. These are developed by the Tiruchirappalli Ordnance Factory and Dehradun Opto Electronic Factory respectively.
The 14.5/20mm anti-material rifle is a dual-caliber modular weapon. It is for destroying enemy bunkers, radar systems, and light armored vehicles.
The upgraded thermal imager-cum-day-sight for T-90 tanks has a range detection of 8,000m at night.
The Namica uses indigenously developed infantry combat vehicle. The vehicle has amphibious capabilities. Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) along with Medak Ordnance Factory developed the combat vehicle. Above all, the vehicle platform can fire six missiles with a gap of 20 seconds between shots.
In another news, Rajnath Singh also announced that India will stop the import of 101 weapons and military platforms. The military platform includes light combat helicopters, transport aircraft, cruise missiles, and sonar systems.
According to an estimate, Indian Armed forces will spend around 130 billion USD in the next five years. India is one of the largest arms importers.