Defence Technology

📖 India's missile systems

Agni series — long-range ballistic missiles, with Agni-V having intercontinental range capability.
Prithvi series — short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missiles.
BrahMos — a supersonic cruise missile developed jointly with Russia, among the fastest of its kind in operational service globally.
Akash — a medium-range surface-to-air missile system for air defence.

🏛️ DRDO — Defence Research and Development Organisation

📚 This topic overlaps across exams — read our in-depth, shared write-up: DRDO — Defence Research & Development Organisation →

Established in 1958, DRDO is India's primary agency for military research and development, working across domains including missiles, aeronautics, naval systems, electronics, and materials science, with a network of laboratories spread across the country.

🇮🇳 Push for indigenous defence production

India has increasingly emphasised self-reliance in defence production ("Atmanirbhar Bharat" in defence), reducing dependence on imports through indigenous platforms, positive indigenisation lists (banning imports of specified items over time), and encouraging private-sector participation in defence manufacturing.

💡 Key Facts

DRDO, established in 1958, is India's primary defence research agency.
BrahMos is a supersonic cruise missile jointly developed with Russia.
Agni-V has intercontinental ballistic missile range capability.
India has pursued 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' in defence to reduce import dependence.

🔖 60-Second Revision

Missiles: Agni (long-range ballistic), Prithvi (short-range), BrahMos (supersonic cruise, India-Russia), Akash (air defence).
DRDO (1958) — apex defence R&D agency.
Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence — indigenisation push, positive indigenisation lists.