In an important initiative towards strengthening self-reliance in the defense sector, India has launched a plan to develop indigenous aerial bombs with 1,000 kg capacity. The Defense Ministry has formally issued Expression of Interest (EOI) for this project.
The project aims to develop heavy bombs that are compatible with both Russian and Western aircraft in the Indian Air Force fleet. This will not only increase India’s firepower but will also reduce its dependence on imports.
The Defense Ministry has placed this program in the “Make-II” (Industry-funded) and “Buy (Indian-IDDM)” categories under the Defense Acquisition Process 2020. This means that private sector participation will also be encouraged in this.
The project will be implemented in two phases. In the first phase, six prototypes, live and inert, will be prepared, which will be tested on various IAF platforms in India. In the second phase, about 600 bombs will be procured, in which at least 50 percent indigenous content will be mandatory.
These bombs will be of the globally popular MK-84 category, which are considered high-yield general-purpose bombs. Currently India is dependent on imports for this category of bombs, which affects strategic autonomy.
The new indigenous system will be designed with natural fragmentation and high-calibre explosive capability, which will enable more effective strikes on enemy targets. Through this, India will also be able to customize weapons as per its needs.
Indian companies have been given the opportunity to participate in this project, and foreign collaboration, such as joint venture or technology transfer, will also be allowed under prescribed conditions. The selection process will take into account parameters such as technical capability, infrastructure, integration capability and level of indigenization. According to the report, the entire process from issuance of EOI to signing of the final contract may take around two and a half years, which will include testing, evaluation and business processes.
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