Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, August 4

The country’s first private sector missile sub-systems manufacturing facility was inaugurated near Hyderabad.A joint venture between the $2.5 billion Kalyani Group and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd, the facility at the Hardware Park on the city’s outskirts will manufacture advanced weapon systems in the short term for Indian armed forces and later for the global defence market.The joint venture will invest in designing, developing and manufacturing of weapon systems, including Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) systems and remote weapon systems.The unit is set to roll out tandem war head, portable anti-tank missile systems and also Spike missiles, which have a range of 2 km to 10 km depending on the mode of transportation.It also has a night-vision capacity, making the weapon deadly accurate even at night time. The production is expected to begin in a few weeks, Kalyani Group chairman Baba N Kalyani said. In tune with the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Centre and the policy to encourage private sector participation in defence production, the 51:49 joint venture will develop a wide range of advanced capabilities. These include command control and guidance, electro-optics, remote weapon systems, precision-guided munitions and system engineering for system integration.  “We have invested Rs 60-70 crore in the plant. Once the orders start flowing, we will invest more,” he said.