Lucknow, 11 May (HS): BrahMos is more than just a weapon; it is
a statement of strength from India's armed forces, Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh said on Sunday at the opening of the largest integration and testing
facility for the supersonic cruise missile system. India is presently one of
the most powerful countries in the world. We are continually building our
strength, and I think that the facility center that is being launched today
will contribute to further boosting India's might, he stated while virtually
addressing the ceremony from Delhi.
“BrahMos is one of the world's fastest supersonic cruise
missiles. BrahMos is more than simply a
weapon; it is a statement in itself. A
statement on the might of our armed forces.
A message of deterrent towards the enemy,” Singh stated and added that
this statement demonstrates our commitment to protecting our borders.
The country's largest BrahMos integration and testing facility
in Lucknow would help India achieve self-reliance in the military industry, according
to Rajnath, who spoke at the opening ceremony for the Uttar Pradesh Defence
Industrial Corridor in his Lok Sabha seat. The good news is that both the
public and commercial sectors are making significant contributions to this
defensive corridor, he added.
In the private sector, he mentioned that PTC Industries Limited
is establishing titanium and superalloy material factories. Aside from that,
the groundwork for seven more key projects is being established. This would
undoubtedly boost India's self-reliance in the military industry, according to
the defence minister. He stated that significant expenditures had been made in
aircraft manufacture, unmanned aerial vehicles, drones, ammunition, composite
and essential materials, small guns, fabrics, and parachutes.
When our administration pursued the concept of a defense
corridor in Uttar Pradesh, one of our goals was to reestablish Uttar Pradesh as
the country's manufacturing hub. The UP Defence Corridor extends via Lucknow,
Kanpur, Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Agra, and Aligarh, and Singh predicts that all of
these nodes will emerge as new centers of growth in the future. He expressed
satisfaction that the project was finished in under 40 months.
Given the current
conditions, it is critical that we continue to achieve our objectives in such a
timely way, Singh stated, congratulating DRDO, engineers, and the individuals
and institutes involved in this initiative. Singh emphasized the significance
of the BrahMos facility's opening, which occurred on National Technology Day.
On this day in 1998, our scientists demonstrated India's power
to the rest of the world by performing nuclear tests in Pokhran, led by the
renowned Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji. That test was the product of the painstaking
work of our scientists, engineers, defense professionals, and a variety of
other stakeholders. He stated that today
is the day to recognize and thank our scientists and engineers for their
contributions.
National Technology Day celebrates the historic events of May
11, 1998, when India successfully conducted nuclear tests under Operation
Shakti and saw the maiden flight of its indigenously produced Hansa-3 aircraft.
In honor of these achievements, then-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
designated May 11 as National Technology Day.
Today is a really special day for me. Rajnath Singh, a Lok Sabha MP from Lucknow,
stated that his city's aim of making a significant contribution to strengthening
India's defence sector has finally been realized. Today is a momentous day for
our city, Lucknow, our state of Uttar Pradesh, and our whole country. Today, I
believe, is a day to worship the power that gives strength to our soldiers,
which resides inside them and wreaks havoc on the enemy, Singh stated. The Rs
300-crore facility is an important element of the Uttar Pradesh Defence
Industrial Corridor and demonstrates India's commitment to self-sufficient
defense production, according to the Ministry of Defence.
It encompasses not just missile manufacture but also testing,
integration, and material complexes for aerospace-grade components. A significant step toward #AtmanirbharBharat,
as well as a strategic boost to regional industrial growth, the Ministry of
Defence stated on X.
The Uttar Pradesh government plans to manufacture a supersonic
cruise missile with a range of 290 to 400 km and a top speed of Mach 2.8. The
missile, developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture between India and
Russia, can be launched from land, sea, or air and uses a fire-and-forget
system. The BrahMos production complex in Lucknow was completed in three and a
half years and is sprawled across 80 hectares of land granted free of charge by
the Uttar Pradesh government, according to a statement from the state.
The UP military Industrial Corridor, launched by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi in 2018, contains six nodes: Lucknow, Kanpur, Aligarh, Agra,
Jhansi, and Chitrakoot, where significant investments are being made to
strengthen defence industry. Uttar Pradesh is the second state, after Tamil
Nadu, to develop a Defence Industrial Corridor, the statement said.
Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi
