Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) celebrated its 68th Foundation Day on January 01, 2026. Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh and Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Sanjay Seth visited the DRDO Headquarters and reviewed the achievements of DRDO in 2025 and targets for 2026. Later, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat addressed the DRDO fraternity at DRDO Bhawan, which was streamed live across all the laboratories of DRDO.
Extending warm wishes to DRDO employees and their families, Dr Kamat stated that the efforts of DRDO have given a quantum jump to India’s pursuit of self-reliance in defence as part of the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ vision. He called upon DRDO scientists to focus on next generation needs including cyber security, space and artificial intelligence. The immense potential available generated through DRDO R&D has been a catalyst for the development of industries in the defence manufacturing sector, he said.
Highlighting the achievements of DRDO in 2025, the Chairman DRDO said that several systems developed were delivered, inducted or handed over to the users. He stressed that DRDO should focus to work together with all stakeholders in the defence ecosphere to meet the country’s futuristic challenges and fulfill the Prime Minister vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. He expressed satisfaction that the 22 Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) been accorded by Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) and the Services Procurement Board (SPB) for induction of several DRDO developed systems worth approx. Rs 1.30 lakh crores to be manufactured by Indian Industries which is the highest in any single year in history.
Some of the notable systems for which AoN has been accorded include Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS), Conventional Ballistic Missile System, Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile System ‘Anant Shastra’, Long Range Air to Surface Supersonic Cruise Missile (LRASSCM), Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction System (IDDIS) MK II, Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) Astra Mk-II, Anti-Tank NAG Missile System (Tracked) Mk-2, Advanced Light Weight Torpedo, Processor-based Moored Mine – Next Generation (PBMM NG), Air-borne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) Mk-1A, Mountain Radars, Full Mission Simulator for Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk-1A.
