New Delhi, May 8 (IANS) Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) have successfully conducted the maiden flight-trial of Tactical Advanced Range Augmentation (TARA) weapon off the coast of Odisha, it was announced on Friday.

TARA, the modular range extension kit, is India’s first indigenous glide weapon system to convert unguided warheads into precision guided weapons, according to a Defence Ministry statement.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO, IAF, DcPP, and the industry for the maiden flight-trial, describing it as a significant development in advancing India’s indigenous defence capabilities.

TARA has been designed and developed by Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad along with other DRDO laboratories to enhance the lethality and accuracy of a low-cost weapon to neutralise ground-based targets.

It is the first glide weapon to utilise state-of-the-art low-cost systems. The development of the kit has been undertaken with Development cum Production Partners (DcPP) and other Indian industries, which have already started the production activity.

Dr Samir V Kamat, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO, also congratulated the teams associated with the successful flight-trial.

Meanwhile, Rajnath Singh said this week that the government has placed defence research at the centre of its priorities and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has already transferred 2,200 technologies to various industries.

Addressing defence personnel, industry captains, innovators and start-ups at the inaugural session of the three-day 'North Tech Symposium', organised here by the Indian Army’s Northern and Central Commands and Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers, the minister underscored the importance of sustained focus on research and cultivating the element of surprise to stay future-ready in the present era of intense technological revolution.

He pointed out that 25 per cent of the defence R&D budget has been allocated to the industry, academia, and start-ups, and to date, these entities have already utilised over Rs 4,500 crore of the budget.

—IANS

na/