Firm set to develop QR-SAM missiles

Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) plans to spend ₹2,500 crore on R&D to develop and enhance indigenous products and technologies for the military by 2020.

The state-owned defence electronics manufacturer plans to develop solutions in military communications, radars, electronic warfare suites, weapon systems and electro-optic devices, BEL Chairman and Managing Director M.V. Gowtama said here on Wednesday.

With orders worth ₹40,000 crore in the pipeline, the company expects to touch a turnover of ₹10,000 crore this fiscal.

For the year ended March 2017, BEL posted a net profit of ₹1,548 crore on turnover of ₹8,825 crore.

BEL plans to spend ₹700 crore during the year, mainly on new facilities in Ananthapur and Machilipatnam and the Product Development & Innovation Centre in Bengaluru.

Partners DRDO

As part of the R&D plan, BEL’s board approved ₹274 crore budget for developing the QR-SAM (quick reaction surface-to-air missile) for the armed forces with technology partner DRDO.

“The development of the QR-SAM is progressing well,” Mr. Gowtama said. “We will go in for development trials early next year.”

New orders were expected for the Akash surface-to-air missiles for the Army and the Air Force, he said.