SOURCE: AFI
Top officials from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the Ministry of Defence (MoD), along with the Secretary of Civil Aviation, have conducted a high-level review of operational bottlenecks at the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) facility in Chitradurga, Karnataka. The delays, primarily attributed to the short-sighted stance of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), have significantly impacted critical flight trials of sensitive defense programs, raising concerns about India’s defense R&D timelines.
The ATR facility, established to support the testing and validation of indigenous defense platforms, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other aerospace systems, has faced persistent challenges due to airspace restrictions and coordination issues with AAI. These bottlenecks have hampered the progress of key DRDO projects, critical to India’s self-reliance in defense technology under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
In response, the MoD’s top brass has issued directives to key defense stakeholders, including DRDO and other agencies, to identify and prioritize national test facilities requiring urgent attention. This move aims to streamline operations, resolve airspace conflicts, and ensure that critical testing infrastructure like the Chitradurga ATR is fully optimized to support India’s defense programs.
The intervention by the PMO and MoD underscores the government’s commitment to accelerating indigenous defense development and addressing systemic inefficiencies. The resolution of these bottlenecks is expected to expedite flight trials for sensitive programs, bolstering India’s defense capabilities and reinforcing its strategic autonomy in aerospace technology.
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