Kamal Shah
Brahamastra Defence Techno Products Limited is a new player providing state-of-the-art solutions to its customers in the defence and security industry. The company’s Executive Director, Sachidanand Upadhyay has already zeroed in on new market opportunities for the promising firm at Defexpo 2022 and spoke about the organisation’s aims and emerging vision with Indian Aerospace and Defence’s Editorial Director, Kamal Shah ahead of Defexpo 2022.
Q. How does Brahamastra Defence Techno Products Limited (BDTPL) look at DefExpo22 as an opportunity to showcase its products?
Ans: We are of the opinion that Defexpo 2022 is one umbrella solution to reach all potential customers at one point. Our past experiences with Defexpo have been indeed enriching. Brahamastra is a newly formed company. Defexpo 2022 is the right platform to understand the ecosystem, technology and innovation need. Brahamastra will launch its products and technology at Defexpo 2022. So it is a platform where Brahamashtra will be introduced to the world.
Q. What products (sights and scopes) does the company aim to offer at DefExpo 2022 for the Indian Armed Forces?
Ans: Our main product line in scope and sights will be the holographic sights and the multi-functional hand-held thermal imagers, as we have seen that the demand exceeds the supply. The main reason is that only two companies in the world offer holographic sights, and we are unique as we possess the technology. Holographic Sights, Hand Held Thermal Imager (HHTI) and armour are new products by Brahamashtra.
Q. Which of your products are suitable for what type of roles and utilisation for the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force & Coast Guard?
Ans: Broadly, we will offer thermal and day sights adaptable to all assault rifles and (Light Machine Guns (LMG), hand-held multi-functional thermal imagers and a Long-range Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) based surveillance system for border application. The other product included in our segment is the anti-drone product, which is also one of its kind. Our Advanced Ballistic Helmet geared towards the security services, particularly special forces and specialised counter-terrorism units.
Long-range Pan Tilt Zoom (PTZ) based surveillance system for border application
Q. How different are Brahamastra Defence Techno Products Limited (BDTPL) products in each segment compared to similar products?
Ans: All our products offered are user-friendly compared to other existing products with all due respect, taking the user into a comfort zone. Another important aspect is our modular concept of design, which makes maintenance and after-sales services less challenging and significantly reduces recurring maintenance costs.
Q. What type and extent of domestic and international partnerships do Brahamastra Defence Techno Products Limited (BDTPL) have with other companies/Public Sector Undertakings?
Ans: On the domestic front, we have joined hands with a mini-Ratna PSU Railtel which has always been in the technology forefront, hungry to be part of innovation and cutting-edge technology. Our academia partners give us a solid foundation to introduce technologies in the thermal core. Our most significant achievements on the international front have been the tie-up with Xenics, Belgium, to offer the lightest thermal core under an exclusive Transfer of Technology (ToT) and a tie-up with Mctech, Israel, for anti-drones. These tie-ups will undoubtedly give a quantum jump in the coming times.
Q. How does Brahamastra Defence Techno Products Limited (BDTPL) look at India’s Micro, Small, Medium and Enterprises (MSME) industry in the defence and security field? What areas should the government focus on supporting the new companies in the defence and security sector?
Ans: MSMEs play a very important role in Supply Chain Management. MSMEs are better placed in manufacturing labour-oriented components. Government and large corporations should promote MSMEs to develop components with technology transfer to develop the ecosystem. Further, MSMEs should have easy access to the premier research institute for research and development (R&D).
Q. Readers, would be interested to know about the company’s anti-drone systems. Could you tell us about your product range in this domain? and how does the company’s anti-drone system differ from that of the competitors?
Ans: The anti-drone we propose to offer with a live video demonstration is by virtue of our tie-up with Mctech Israel. They are the pioneers in the anti-drone field, specifically in the software domain, wherein they are in a position to offer some very unique differences from the others. While we are all aware, with all due respect, that most anti-drones have been unable to arrest all drones, Mctech thinks otherwise as their software is their pride, and their failure rates are minimal.
More so, they are offering a wide range of products, from a portable model to a soft kill and eventually to a hard kill system, and their products have already received acceptance on a global level. We propose to demonstrate the soft kill system, which is the largest-selling drone In terms of quantity. What keeps Brahamastra and Mctech as the forerunners is the price competitiveness, which is a match-winner even in terms of global competition.
Q. Can you shed light on the company’s ‘Robodog’ concept? What type of operational envi- ronment do you envision it being used in, and who are the likely end users?
Ans: The Robodog is once again one of the newest inventions in the field of robotics wherein millions of dollars have been invested by USA and China to bring their model adaptable for strategic use.
Q. How do you see this concept shape the future of warfare which is seeing leaps and bounds in the development of robotics?
Ans: Yes, we totally agree that robotics is the future, and we will see more of it in the coming times. Those days are not far away when we will have our soldiers’ lives restored by the virtue of Robots at the borders and many other strategic locations, as one sees a tremendous comfort zone. Few countries have also deployed it on a minuscule level, but with the inputs being received favourably, we will see a massive demand for such systems, and the world will be e a better place to live.
Q. What is your focus point and message for the delegates visiting DefExpo22?
Ans: Our focus is to understand the ecosystem, identify gaps, get feedback on our product/technology, understand the need of end-user and use the platform for future R&D plans.
