DRDO Opens Actuators, Infrared Seeker, Lightweight Torpedo and Armour Technologies to Indian Industry

The Defence Research and Development Organisation has opened a diverse group of military technologies to Indian industry, spanning aerospace actuation, missile seekers, anti-submarine warfare and lightweight armour. The latest entries on DRDO’s official Transfer of Technology portal show an effort to move mature technologies from laboratories into an industrial ecosystem capable of manufacturing, integrating and testing them at production scale.

The latest batch includes a family of electro-mechanical actuators from the Aeronautical Development Establishment, integration technology for an uncooled imaging infrared seeker from Research Centre Imarat, the Advanced Light Weight Torpedo developed by the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory, and manufacturing technology for STANAG-6 armour panels from Research & Development Establishment (Engineers).

Together, the transfers illustrate the breadth of India’s defence-indigenisation effort. Rather than concentrating only on complete weapon platforms, DRDO is opening technologies at the subsystem, component, integration and manufacturing-process levels that form the industrial foundation beneath larger indigenous defence programmes.

DRDO Opens New Technologies Across Four Strategic Areas

DRDO published the Integration Technology for Uncooled IIR Seeker for R044 and Advanced Light Weight Torpedo for technology transfer on October 6, 2026. The organisation had earlier added the Manufacturing Technology for STANAG-6 (30 mm AP) Armour Panels on October 1.

This was followed on October 7 by a larger package from ADE covering rotary electro-mechanical actuators and associated controllers. These include REMA25, REMA40M, REMA50A, REMA50 and REMA75, along with a Quad Digital Actuator Controller.

All of these technologies appear in DRDO’s Category A list, covering military technologies offered to selected industry partners. The number of available licences varies by technology, indicating that DRDO intends to create manufacturing or integration capability through more than one industrial partner in several cases.

Indigenous IIR Seeker Technology Moves Towards Industrial Integration

One of the most strategically significant additions is the Integration Technology for Uncooled IIR Seeker for R044, developed by Research Centre Imarat in Hyderabad.

DRDO states that the uncooled imaging infrared seeker has been developed as a passive homing head for a very-short-range surface-to-air tactical missile. Unlike radar-guided systems that depend on radio-frequency emissions, an imaging infrared seeker detects thermal information from the target and uses that information for terminal guidance.

The technology transfer is specifically an integration ToT. The selected industry partner will be expected to undertake integration and assembly as well as acceptance and qualification testing needed to produce an operational seeker.

This distinction is important. DRDO is not simply offering the manufacture of individual mechanical parts. It is looking for companies capable of integrating optics, electronics, mechanical systems, embedded controls and testing infrastructure into a complete seeker.

Industry Will Need Advanced Electro-Optical Manufacturing Capability

DRDO’s requirements for potential industrial partners reveal the level of capability needed to absorb the seeker technology. Applicants are expected to possess specialised electro-optical assembly infrastructure, including certified clean-room facilities, electrostatic-discharge-protected electronics integration areas and facilities for PCB assembly, soldering and cable harness production.

The requirements also extend to infrared calibration and metrology. Industry partners must have access to blackbody radiation sources, infrared collimators and specialised test facilities. Environmental testing must cover temperatures from -30°C to +80°C, while vibration, shock and other qualification capabilities are also required.

DRDO additionally requires expertise in precision electro-mechanical alignment, software and firmware installation, system calibration and closed-loop control systems. The industrial partner must have a defence manufacturing licence covering guidance and navigation equipment.

Before receiving a technology absorption certificate, the selected company will have to realise three seekers under DRDO guidance. One will be produced at RCI as part of training and two at the company’s premises. The industry-produced seekers must then undergo acceptance and qualification testing.

This framework shows that the transfer is intended to create a genuine domestic integration capability rather than a limited assembly arrangement.

Advanced Light Weight Torpedo Offered for Productionisation

The second major technology opened on October 6 is the Advanced Light Weight Torpedo, developed by DRDO’s Naval Science and Technological Laboratory at Visakhapatnam.

According to DRDO, the ALWT is designed for launch from ships as well as aerial platforms. The laboratory describes its capabilities as comparable with contemporary lightweight torpedoes used by international navies.

The technology-transfer programme goes directly into productionisation. NSTL says it will provide relevant production information covering the torpedo and its test systems so that selected Indian companies can manufacture the weapon through a supply chain approved by DRDO.

That makes the ALWT transfer particularly significant. Modern lightweight torpedoes combine propulsion, power supply, underwater guidance, acoustic homing, control electronics, warhead systems and precision mechanical assemblies in a compact weapon designed to hunt submarines.

DRDO Sets a High Threshold for Torpedo Manufacturers

The industrial requirements for ALWT production are consequently demanding. DRDO requires applicants to have prior experience in the assembly, testing, evaluation and integration of torpedo systems, along with skilled personnel and dedicated electronic and quality-assurance laboratories.

Participating companies must also demonstrate experience with relevant defence quality agencies and certification processes. DRDO specifies ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certification among the eligibility requirements.

The financial threshold is also substantial. Applicants are required to have recorded turnover of more than ₹500 crore in each of the preceding three consecutive years.

These conditions indicate that DRDO is seeking companies already possessing a mature aerospace, naval or complex-weapons manufacturing base rather than firms entering high-end defence manufacturing for the first time.

ALWT Strengthens India’s Anti-Submarine Warfare Ecosystem

DRDO has worked on lightweight torpedo technologies for decades. Its official technical literature describes the Advanced Light Weight Torpedo as an anti-submarine weapon capable of deployment from ships, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

A lightweight torpedo must be able to enter the water safely, establish its underwater trajectory, search for a submarine and guide itself towards a moving target that may simultaneously change course and depth.

Industrial production of such weapons therefore requires competence extending far beyond conventional ammunition manufacturing. It builds expertise in underwater acoustics, guidance and control, specialised batteries, propulsion, electronics, hydrodynamics and high-precision engineering.

Opening ALWT technology to industry can consequently strengthen a much broader Indian underwater-weapons supply chain.

DRDO Transfers STANAG-6 Armour Manufacturing Technology

The third major technology is markedly different but equally important. DRDO’s Research & Development Establishment (Engineers), Pune, has developed indigenous manufacturing technology for lightweight armour panels designed to meet STANAG-6 protection requirements against 30 mm armour-piercing ammunition.

DRDO identifies lightweight protection against this threat class as an important requirement for future main battle tanks, light tanks and Future Infantry Combat Vehicles.

The laboratory says it undertook multiple design iterations and simulations before developing and testing the indigenous armour solution. It also evolved a new manufacturing method for producing the panels.

According to the official transfer document, the panels underwent extensive testing and achieved the required STANAG-6 parameters.

Industry Will Receive the Armour Manufacturing Know-How

Unlike a technology transfer limited to drawings or final product specifications, the armour package covers manufacturing knowledge needed to reproduce the panels.

DRDO says the transfer includes the bill of materials, manufacturing process, quality-assurance plan and test details. This provides an industry partner with the technical chain needed to establish repeatable manufacturing and verification procedures.

The present technology transfer concerns armour at the panel level rather than a complete vehicle protection package. Vehicle-specific armour integration would still depend on factors such as platform architecture, weight distribution, coverage, mounting arrangements and the overall protection requirement.

Nevertheless, mastering the panel manufacturing process could support future indigenous armoured vehicle programmes while creating a base for developing protection against other medium-calibre threats.

Aerospace Actuators Add Another Layer to the Industrialisation Push

DRDO followed the seeker, torpedo and armour announcements by adding a substantial family of electro-mechanical actuator technologies from ADE on October 7.

The portfolio includes actuator systems rated from 25 Nm to 75 Nm, with analogue and digital controller configurations, along with the Quad Digital Actuator Controller. Multiple licences have been opened for these technologies.

Electro-mechanical actuators translate electronic commands into accurately controlled mechanical movement. They form an important part of aerospace control architectures where surfaces, mechanisms or other movable elements must respond precisely to commands from onboard control systems.

By transferring several actuator variants rather than a single component, DRDO is giving Indian industry access to a broader family of aerospace control technologies suited to different load and control requirements.

From Indigenous Design to Industrial Capacity

The common thread connecting these technologies is not their battlefield role but their movement from research and development towards industrial absorption.

The seeker requires precision electro-optical integration. The torpedo demands complex underwater-weapons production and testing. The armour technology requires repeatable materials processing and ballistic-quality manufacturing. The actuator family brings precision aerospace electromechanical systems into the same industrialisation pipeline.

Each therefore develops a different segment of India’s defence manufacturing base.

This approach is particularly important because strategic autonomy cannot rest only on the ability to design a missile, aircraft, torpedo or armoured vehicle. India also needs companies capable of manufacturing specialised subsystems, conducting qualification tests, maintaining production quality and supporting equipment throughout its operational life.

DRDO’s Industry Model Is Becoming Broader

DRDO has progressively expanded the role assigned to Indian companies in defence development. Its official records show that by the beginning of 2025, approximately 1,950 Transfers of Technology involving DRDO-developed systems had been handed over to Indian industry, including 256 Licensing Agreements for Transfer of Technology signed during 2024 alone.

The new seeker, torpedo, armour and actuator offerings continue that transition. They also show how the industrial model is becoming more sophisticated: companies are being asked not merely to fabricate components but to absorb integration, qualification, testing and controlled manufacturing processes.

For India’s defence sector, this creates a pathway through which specialised knowledge developed inside government laboratories can translate into lasting private and public-sector manufacturing capability.

A Broader Indigenous Defence Supply Chain Takes Shape

The latest DRDO technology transfers cover four very different operational domains, yet together they reveal the same strategic direction. Missile guidance, underwater weapons, armoured protection and aerospace control systems are all technologies in which manufacturing quality is as important as the initial design.

Moving these capabilities into Indian industry can create additional production sources, broaden the domestic supplier base and preserve specialised manufacturing knowledge outside individual DRDO laboratories.

As more mature technologies cross from research institutions into licensed production, India’s defence-indigenisation programme is increasingly building not only indigenous platforms but also the industrial depth required to manufacture the critical systems inside them.

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References

1. Defence Research and Development Organisation, Ministry of Defence — Transfer of Technologies: Category A Military Technologies, including Integration Technology for Uncooled IIR Seeker for R044, Advanced Light Weight Torpedo, STANAG-6 Armour Panels and ADE electro-mechanical actuator technologies. DRDO
   https://drdo.gov.in/drdo/en/offerings/transfer-of-technologies
2. Research Centre Imarat, DRDO — Integration Technology for Uncooled IIR Seeker for R044, official Transfer of Technology document, October 6, 2026. The document describes the seeker, industry infrastructure requirements and technology-absorption process. DRDO
3. Naval Science and Technological Laboratory, DRDO — Advanced Light Weight Torpedo, official Expression of Interest/Transfer of Technology document, October 6, 2026. DRDO
4. Research & Development Establishment (Engineers), DRDO — Manufacturing Technology for STANAG-6 (30 mm AP) Armour Panels, official technology-transfer document, October 1, 2026. DRDO
5. DRDO — Advanced Light Weight Torpedo technical background, describing the weapon’s ship and air-launch roles, acoustic homing and underwater operating concept. DRDO
6. DRDO Newsletter, February 2025 — DRDO–Industry collaboration and Transfer of Technology figures, including 1,950 technology transfers and 256 LAToTs signed during 2024. DRDO

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