Balu Forge Industries Limited (BFIL) has secured its first commercial purchase order for advanced 155mm Extended Range Full Bore Base Bleed and Boat Tail artillery shells, marking another step in the expansion of India’s private-sector large-calibre ammunition manufacturing base. The initial order covers a pilot supply of 10,000 units, after which deliveries are expected to continue on a monthly basis.
The company describes its objective as developing unmanned aerospace systems for global markets from India, with programmes intended for organisations including the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs, National Disaster Response Force and Department of Telecommunications.
Bengaluru-based Niqo Robotics is developing a more selective alternative. Its camera systems observe crops while agricultural machinery moves through the field, artificial-intelligence models identify individual plants or weeds, and electronically controlled nozzles release chemical only at the selected target.
Organised jointly by the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) and global semiconductor industry association SEMI, this year’s conference carries the theme “Silicon to Systems: Building the Ecosystem.” The event comes as India attempts to expand beyond electronics assembly and establish capabilities across semiconductor design, fabrication, packaging, materials, equipment and advanced electronics manufacturing.
The project, being led by the Atal Incubation Centre – Anna University (AIC-AU), will evaluate the battery as a potential long-duration energy storage, or LDES, solution for India’s rapidly changing power grid. The pilot is expected to provide real-world data on the technology’s technical performance, reliability and operating behaviour under power-station conditions.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) announced the achievement on August 15, 2026. Aheesa had completed the VIHAAN tape-out on Republic Day, January 26, 2026, before reaching the first-pass silicon milestone on Independence Day. The company will now take the chip through further development and validation, with a production tape-out targeted for 2027.
The Department of Defence Production said the items together represent an estimated business potential of around ₹3,070 crore for Indian manufacturers. Once successfully developed domestically, these products will be procured from Indian industry instead of being sourced from overseas suppliers.
At the centre of this emerging approach is the Indrajaal Ranger, a vehicle-mounted counter-unmanned aircraft system developed by Hyderabad-based Indrajaal Drone Defence. The company describes Ranger as a purpose-built Anti-Drone Patrol Vehicle, or ADPV, capable of detecting, tracking and countering rogue drones while moving through border areas, urban zones and other sensitive corridors.
Incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Planys designs remotely operated vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles, crawler systems, marine sensors and digital inspection tools. These machines enter submerged spaces, record structural conditions, conduct non-destructive testing and convert the collected information into digital reports that engineers can use for maintenance decisions.
The programme could eventually create an aircraft very different from the Su-30MKI that entered Indian service more than two decades ago. Its enormous airframe, payload capacity, endurance and electrical space provide India with something smaller fighters cannot easily offer: room for powerful sensors, large weapons and continuing technological evolution.
