Virendra Singh Rawat / Lucknow
In a major breakthrough augmenting India’s defence manufacturing capabilities, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur has developed India’s first Soft Recovery System (SRS) for supersonic projectiles.
The technology is used for the recovery of a high speed projectile after initial impact with minimum damage. It is deemed vital for the development of ‘smart and intelligent’ warheads with maximum effectiveness and minimum collateral damage.
Now, India has joined the league of advanced countries having proven SRS technology in their arsenal.
IIT Kanpur to groom military hardware industry
The SRS technology has been developed in a joint venture between IIT Kanpur and Ordnance Factory Medak (OFMK), a unit of Armored Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVNL). This research was led by Prof Nachiketa Tiwari of IIT Kanpur, and Alok Prasad, General Manager of OFMK.
“The acquisition of SRS technology is a pre-requisite for the development of smart and guided munitions, as it can provide a testbed for smart munition designs,” according to IIT Kanpur.
The indigenously developed SRS has the potential to arrest the motion of a 30 mm supersonic projectile moving at a speed of roughly Mach 3 i.e. three times the speed of sound, within a distance of about 50 meters.
While, IIT Kanpur was involved in concept development, design, virtual validation of the SRS and testing of sub-assemblies; OFMK was instrumental in fabricating and assembling the 50 meter long assembly.
“IIT Kanpur advocates for multi-stakeholder collaboration for holistic development in the research and innovation sector. The SRS will not only assist in the effective recovery of supersonic projectiles, but contribute towards the larger goal of attaining India’s self-reliance in developing advanced defense systems,” IIT Kanpur director Prof Abhay Karandikar said.
Moreover, the collaboration has not only formulated India’s first SRS, but yielded several proprietary technologies, which is expected to boost the prospects of the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) goals in the defense sector.
Last year, IIT Kanpur and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB), Kolkata had also signed an agreement to offer a customised Master of Design (M Des) programme for officers sponsored by Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) to help them design sophisticated weapons and weapon-systems.