Avantel disclosed the contract to the stock exchanges on 29 August 2026 under Regulation 30 of the SEBI Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements. The order has been awarded by DRDO under the Ministry of Defence and is classified as a domestic contract. Its total value of ₹117.88 crore includes applicable taxes.
Developed in-house within the Indian Army by Major Rajprasad R.S. of the Corps of Engineers, the robotic platform represents a significant step in the Army’s growing effort to integrate unmanned ground systems into frontline formations. SapperScout 2.0 has been conceived as a modular vehicle rather than a single-purpose robot, allowing different mission payloads to be installed on a common all-terrain chassis.
Bengaluru-based Ethereal Machines is working on this less-visible layer of industrial capability. The company designs, builds and operates proprietary multi-axis CNC systems in India. Its flagship Nimbus five-axis machining platform is designed for complex components that demand micron-level precision.
LMW, however, does not manufacture textiles itself. It manufactures the sophisticated machinery used by textile mills. That distinction helps explain a transformation that has largely taken place outside public attention: the engineering company that perfected machines for turning cotton into yarn is now manufacturing rocket structures, aircraft assemblies, aero-engine components and advanced carbon-fibre composites.
The programme is significant because CHESS is one of the DRDO establishments associated with high-energy technologies and directed-energy research. A collimated fibre laser array represents an important class of optical technology for generating, conditioning and directing multiple laser outputs with controlled beam characteristics, capabilities that have relevance to the broader development of scalable high-power laser systems.
The comparison became more relevant after DRDO successfully demonstrated MPATGM against a moving tank-type target in January 2026 using a top-attack engagement profile. That trial showed that the latest Indian configuration had moved beyond basic technology demonstration and was approaching the stage required for induction into the Indian Army. The result placed India much closer to possessing a domestically controlled weapon in the same broad battlefield category as Javelin.
The patent, granted on 27 August 2026, covers an invention titled “A Process for Nanoemulsifiable Concentrate Formulations of Hydrophobic Bioactive Molecules.” More importantly, the technology has already moved beyond laboratory research and has been translated into CIFRI ARGCURE®, a field-oriented formulation developed to control Argulus and other ectoparasites affecting cultured fish. The patent award was formally announced by the Government of India on 28 August.
Artha is intended primarily for Indian enterprises and public institutions that require AI systems capable of handling Indian languages while allowing sensitive information and model workloads to remain within their own computing infrastructure.
The Ministry of Defence described the August 25 decision as an important step towards greater self-reliance in defence manufacturing. Instead of relying primarily on a small number of traditional production agencies, DRDO-developed conventional missile technologies can now be transferred to a wider pool of capable Indian manufacturers.
Singh confirmed that TASL is separately developing systems with a range of 400 km, indicating that the company is working beyond the tactical loitering-munition category in which it has already secured significant orders from the Indian armed forces.
