Service of State
Defence Research and Development Organisation
The Defence Research and Development Organisation is the research-and-development wing of India's Ministry of Defence, tasked with making the armed forces self-reliant in weapons and military systems. Through a network of about fifty laboratories it develops missiles, radars, armour, aircraft systems and electronic warfare kit, and transfers the resulting technology to public- and private-sector producers. DRDO is a seat of power because it is the state's instrument for indigenising the hardware of national defence — the point where strategic-autonomy policy meets the physics of building weapons.
Updated
- Headquarters
- DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi
- Parent
- Department of Defence R&D, Ministry of Defence
- Budget FY2026-27
- ₹29,100.25 crore (capital ₹17,250.25 crore)
- Founded
- 1 January 1958
Role
The Defence Research and Development Organisation is the research-and-development arm of the Ministry of Defence and the central institution through which the Indian state tries to build, rather than buy, the weapons its forces use. It sits under the Department of Defence Research and Development, one of the departments of the Ministry of Defence, and is headed by the Chairman of DRDO, who also serves as Secretary of that department and as the government’s principal adviser on defence science. Through a network of roughly fifty specialised laboratories — spanning missiles, aeronautics, armaments, electronics, naval systems, materials and life sciences — DRDO designs systems, oversees their development and qualification, and licenses the technology to public-sector undertakings and private firms that manufacture at scale.
Its work is where India’s strategic-autonomy ambition becomes concrete hardware. DRDO owns or anchors the country’s strategic missile programmes (the Agni and Prithvi families and hypersonic development), its air-defence and tactical missiles (Akash, Astra, the anti-tank and quick-reaction systems), and a broad base of radar, electronic-warfare and platform technology; it is a partner in the Indo-Russian BrahMos venture and the parent of the Aeronautical Development Agency behind the Tejas fighter. Because indigenous capability reduces dependence on foreign suppliers in a crisis, DRDO is simultaneously a scientific body, an industrial-policy lever and a security asset — which is also why its budget, delivery record and internal structure are recurrent subjects of government review.
Desk maintained by IndiaStand editorial cycles. Officeholders are transient; this dossier tracks the institution.
Timeline since 1947
- reference
DRDO formed
The Defence Research and Development Organisation was created by amalgamating the Defence Science Organisation with the technical development establishments of the armed forces, to give India an in-house military R&D capability.
- reference
Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme launched
The IGMDP, begun in 1982-83, set out to develop five indigenous missile classes — Prithvi, Agni, Akash, Trishul and Nag — and became the spine of India's later missile arsenal.
- reference
IGMDP formally concluded
The programme was declared complete after its core missiles had been developed, and DRDO moved to a system of individual missile projects and mission-mode programmes.
- gdelt
Committee set up to restructure DRDO
The government set up a nine-member committee chaired by former Principal Scientific Adviser K. VijayRaghavan, with the push reported as coming from the Prime Minister's Office, to recommend restructuring DRDO — including rationalising the number of laboratories and sharpening its research focus. The committee's report, 'Redefining Defence Research and Development,' followed later in 2023.
- official
First long-range hypersonic missile flight-tested
DRDO conducted the flight-trial of India's first long-range hypersonic missile off the Odisha coast, describing it as designed to carry payloads to ranges greater than 1,500 km; the Ministry of Defence characterised the test as placing India in a group of select nations with such capability.
- official
Indigenous air defence used in Operation Sindoor
During the May 2025 India–Pakistan military exchange, air-defence systems including the DRDO-developed Akash surface-to-air missile and the Akashteer air-defence control-and-reporting network — which Bharat Electronics manufactures in collaboration with DRDO and ISRO — were used against drones and aerial threats. DRDO published a news compendium citing the operation as validation of indigenous air defence; that assessment is attributed to DRDO and the armed forces.
- official
Astra BVRAAM tested with indigenous RF seeker
DRDO and the Indian Air Force flight-tested the Astra beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile fitted with an indigenously developed radio-frequency seeker from a Su-30 Mk-I, with the Ministry of Defence stating that two launches destroyed high-speed aerial targets and that all subsystems, including the seeker, performed to expectation.
- official
Agni-Prime launched from a rail-mobile launcher
The intermediate-range Agni-Prime missile was test-fired from a rail-based mobile launcher together with the Strategic Forces Command, described by the Ministry of Defence as a first-of-its-kind launch adding rail mobility to the canisterised system.
- official
DRDO budget raised for FY2026-27
DRDO's allocation was raised to ₹29,100.25 crore for FY2026-27 from ₹26,816.82 crore in FY2025-26, with ₹17,250.25 crore earmarked for capital expenditure, within a Ministry of Defence allocation the government described as an all-time high of about ₹7.85 lakh crore.
Frequently asked
- What is Defence Research and Development Organisation?
- The Defence Research and Development Organisation is the research-and-development wing of India's Ministry of Defence, tasked with making the armed forces self-reliant in weapons and military systems. Through a network of about fifty laboratories it develops missiles, radars, armour, aircraft systems and electronic warfare kit, and transfers the resulting technology to public- and private-sector producers. DRDO is a seat of power because it is the state's instrument for indigenising the hardware of national defence — the point where strategic-autonomy policy meets the physics of building weapons.
- When was Defence Research and Development Organisation established?
- Defence Research and Development Organisation was established 1958-01-01.
- What does Defence Research and Development Organisation do?
- Its remit covers Strategic and tactical missile systems (Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Astra, BrahMos programme, hypersonics), Air-defence, radar, electronic-warfare and command-and-control systems, Combat aircraft, aero-engine, naval and armour/land-systems research, Technology transfer to public and private defence producers, Advising the Ministry of Defence on defence science and technology.
- What is the latest on Defence Research and Development Organisation?
- As of 2026-07-06: DRDO budget raised for FY2026-27. DRDO's allocation was raised to ₹29,100.25 crore for FY2026-27 from ₹26,816.82 crore in FY2025-26, with ₹17,250.25 crore earmarked for capital expenditure, within a Ministry of Defence allocation the government described as an all-time high of about ₹7.85 lakh crore.