The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up three testing facilities in Chennai under the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor. These would be established in unmanned aerial system (UAS), electronic warfare (EW) and electro optics (EO) domains.

The MoU, under the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS), was exchanged between senior officials of MoD and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation, in the presence of Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane in New Delhi. With an outlay of Rs 400 crore, the DTIS was launched in May 2020 to set up testing facilities for promoting indigenous defence production, and enhancing self-reliance. Seven testing facilities were approved, four in Tamil Nadu and three in Uttar Pradesh.

The DTIS provides up to 75 percent government funding, with the remaining 25 percent funded by the special purpose vehicle (SPVs), comprising Indian private entities and state/Central governments. For the UAS testing facility, Keltron, a government of Kerala undertaking, is the lead SPV member, with some private sector companies as consortium members.

Bharat Electronics (BEL) and India Optel (IOL) are the lead SPV members in the EW and EO testing facilities respectively. Upon the completion of the project, they will provide advanced testing equipment and services to both government and private industry, thus giving a boost to ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence.