NEW DELHI: In a major political push to the private defence manufacturing sector, the government has opened up its testing facilities and military ranges across the nation for use by companies developing systems for the armed forces The change in policy is being seen as a game changer for indigenous research and development, given that in the past private players had to send equipment abroad for testing and certification, resulting in time and cost escalations.Dozens of facilities across the nation - from the air force's weapon testing ranges to laboratories of PSUs that can test tensile strength of material - are now available with the defence ministry issuing a new Standing Operating Procedure (SOP).Laboratories and ranges across organizations like the DRDO, the three armed forces, Defence PSUs will be available after an application process that will involve vetting the finances and background of the private entity and ensuring secrecy for the military establishments.Military units have already starting listing testing facilities that have been opened up, along with the process to apply and costs involved. "There is no precedence of private sector entities utilising IAF facilities for testing their equipment… would boost the indigenous aviation defence industry thereby reducing dependence on foreign suppliers," an air force note on the new policy accessed by ET reads.This is a major shift from the past as no avenue existed for the testing and evaluation of products developed by the industry. "This will help the Industry to get solutions tested in India instead of sending them abroad, saving both time and money. Testing and validation are imperative for research and development," Neeraj Gupta, Managing Director of homegrown military manufacturer MKU Pvt. Ltd told ET.The lack of Indian testing facilities had also added significantly to the costs of developing new systems. In the case of an artillery gun developer for example, it took over an year to use an Army range for tests. Other companies, including a major producer of bullet proof materials regularly used European facilities for tests, increasing developmental costs. "By permitting the usage of existing govt. owned testing facilities, the development and prototyping cost of defence products will not only come down but also become faster," Ankur Gupta of EY India said.Among the facilities now available - on the condition that they are not being utilized for government run projects - are air to ground and small arms ranges, aircraft, helicopters, radars, naval dockyards and HAL laboratories.