Question 1

DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) was established in:

Accepted Answer

1958. DRDO was established in 1958 by merging the Defence Science Organisation (DSO) with the Technical Development Establishments (TDEs) and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production (DTDP). It operates under the Ministry of Defence and is headquartered in New Delhi. DRDO employs approximately 5,000 scientists and over 25,000 technical staff. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam is the most celebrated former DRDO chief, serving as Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister (1992-1999).

Question 2

How many laboratories and establishments does DRDO approximately have?

Accepted Answer

50. DRDO operates approximately 50 laboratories and establishments spread across India, each specialising in different defence technologies. Major labs include DRDL (Hyderabad) for missiles, CAIR (Bangalore) for AI and robotics, DMRL (Hyderabad) for materials, INMAS (Delhi) for nuclear medicine, SAG (Delhi) for cryptography, and DIPR (Delhi) for psychological research. These labs work on electronics, armaments, aeronautics, naval systems, life sciences, and advanced materials.

Question 3

The Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) in Hyderabad is primarily known for:

Accepted Answer

Missile systems development. DRDL (Defence Research and Development Laboratory) at Hyderabad is India's premier missile development laboratory. It developed the Agni and Prithvi ballistic missiles under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP). DRDL is also responsible for developing hypersonic technology, ballistic missile defence systems (PAD/AAD), and the BrahMos cruise missile (in joint venture with Russia). It was the hub of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam's missile work in the 1980s-90s.

Question 4

HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) was established in:

Accepted Answer

1940. HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) was established on 23 December 1940 in Bangalore by Seth Walchand Hirachand as Hindustan Aircraft Limited. The Government of India took over in 1941. It was renamed Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in 1964. HAL is headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka, and is a Navratna public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Defence. HAL manufactures fighters, trainers, helicopters, and aero-engines.

Question 5

The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas was developed by:

Accepted Answer

Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) with HAL as production agency. LCA Tejas was developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), a programme management organisation under DRDO, with HAL as the production and manufacturing agency. ADA was set up specifically in 1984 to design and develop Tejas. The airframe design used advanced composite materials. Tejas achieved Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) in 2013 and Final Operational Clearance (FOC) in 2019. HAL manufactures Tejas at its Bangalore complex and currently has contracts for 83 Mk1A and 18 Mk1 aircraft.

DRDO, HAL & Defence Orgs — Set 1