India pushes for indigenisation of secured radio communication for armed forces

India is pushing for indigenisation of secured radio communication for the armed forces with the involvement of top research bodies, the defence ministry said on July 26.

The country has fast-tracked the indigenisation of so-called Software Defined Radios with Defence Research and Development Organisation and Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur “to fulfill the increasing demand by the armed forces across a broad spectrum of operations”, the ministry said in a statement.

The product life cycle management framework for security-sensitive SDR technology and products involves indigenous self-sustainable design, development, manufacturing, testing, certification and maintenance ecosystem.

The indigenisation of SDR technology will be an important milestone towards achieving the goals of self-reliance, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said.

SDR technology’s key components include standardised operating software environment and applications.

The ministry of defence has decided to define and develop reference implementation of India-specific operating environment called India Software Communication Architecture profile or Indian Radio Software Architecture.

A draft project report has been formulated towards indigenous development of SDR with a roadmap and timelines, the government said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration has been pushing domestic manufacturing across various sectors, including defence, as India seeks to become self-reliant in key supplies in a deglobalising world.