"DRDO's Performance In Op Sindoor Was Stellar": Top Missile Scientist In NITI Aayog

Operation Sindoor was a true showcase of India's indigenous competencies developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO) deep capabilities, said Dr V.K. Saraswat, a missile scientist, who is a member (S&T) of NITI Aayog. All efforts to demolish DRDO should be buried once and for all, he asserted.

The morale at DRDO, which is home to 5,000 scientists, was hit since two high-powered committees tried to restructure it at a mega level. In 2016, a government-mandated committee headed by Dr P Rama Rao, former secretary of the Department of Science and Technology, was constituted to conduct a comprehensive review of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It led to the creation of seven technology domain-based clusters headed by separate Directors General. It only added to more bureaucracy, said Dr Saraswat. 

Subsequently, in 2023, another nine-member committee was set up to "reform" the DRDO, headed by Dr K Vijay Raghavan, a basic science researcher by training and former Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India. The report was never made public, but experts said it had suggested dismembering the DRDO and hiving off its units to other ministries. "It was a futile exercise", asserts Dr Saraswat.

Successful test-firing of Quick Reaction Surface To Air Missile (QRSAM)
Photo Credit: drdo.gov.in

In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Dr Saraswat said, "Operation Sindoor has demonstrated the capacity and capability of DRDO to build the modern weapon systems in the strategic, air defence, air surveillance system and integrated command and control system sectors for air defence of the country. The success of missiles like Akash, BrahMos, hitting the Pakistani targets in pinpoint accuracy, engaging the Chinese aircraft, demonstrates that DRDO has the capability and capacity to build such a system."

Dr Saraswat, a well-known missile scientist, added, "DRDO has the capacity and capability. And all the talk, which normally people keep saying that DRDO is not performing, has been completely denied and debunked today by the performance of what its weapon system has done."

There was a time when the DRDO acronym was expanded as "Defenceless Research and Dud Organisation" by some critics.

Dr Saraswat said, "I think it's time that all the criticism of the DRDO, which has been going on for so many decades, should be put to rest today because DRDO has demonstrated its capability in all fields of military technology. This was an Atmanirbhar war fought by India with the indigenous weapon systems and technologies developed by DRDO."

"I think people who have been carrying this message through different reports, which have been done, the first report was done by Prof. P Ramarao when I was the secretary of DRDO and the latest report, which has been done by Prof. K VijayRaghavan, former Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, completely shows that their thinking, their process of looking at how DRDO should perform, is completely out of tune."

"DRDO has a very robust system of managing research and development along with industry, academia and within the 39 laboratories of the country. We have a very cohesive method of doing things. We have no regimentation. We have a democratic process of doing research and development, and we are in a position to do all that with the Indian industry," Dr Saraswat said.

"You see the example of Akash. When we realised that Akash had to be manufactured in large numbers to meet future requirements, we went to two production agencies, Bharat Electronics Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Ltd. A large number of subsystems of Akash were coming from the private sector," he added.

"I think Operation Sindoor and many past events have demonstrated that DRDO scientists can design, develop, and manufacture state-of-the-art weapon systems, whether they are ground-based, missiles, aircraft or electronic warfare systems. There is no segment of weaponry which is not handled by DRDO. Such a wide spectrum, I don't think anywhere it is available."

"DRDO is the only organisation which covers every aspect of it, with the support of the armed forces to fight battles at sea, in high altitudes and cold climates. I don't think that there is an organisation equal to DRDO in the country which can provide that kind of a canvas," he said. "Since I am part of the DRDO, and will remain always, we feel that scientists of DRDO should feel very-very proud that they have done a great service to the nation by working relentlessly together in a harmonious manner for the last 50-60 years and brought our country to this level of excellence," Dr Saraswat further said.

After a period of flagging spirits, Dr Saraswat added that after Operation Sindoor, the "josh" is back, and it is also high at the premier defence research organisation. He added that if India has to become a developed country, it has to protect itself through atmanirbhar defence systems