Foundation Stones Laid For AMCA Test Centre And Naval Facility

Grounding ceremonies were also held for a Defence Energetics Facility and an Ammunition and Electric Fuses Plant, while a consortium of eight drone companies agreed to establish a Drone City in Kurnool. Various companies signed memoranda of understanding with the Andhra Pradesh government to set up defence manufacturing units. Ministers, defence production officials and industry representatives attended the event.

The Raksha Mantri described the projects as historic and said self-reliance in defence manufacturing was essential for national security amid global turbulence. He said the initiatives would serve as growth poles and generate massive employment, integrating local engineering colleges and ITIs into supply chains and small-scale industry networks. The emphasis on a whole-of-people public–private partnership was presented as transforming defence manufacturing into a mass movement.

The AMCA programme is valued at Rs 150 billion (bn) and the Core Integration and Flight Testing Centre is being built at Rs 20 bn. Bharat Dynamics Limited cited the Naval Systems Manufacturing Facility at Rs 4.8 bn, focusing on autonomous underwater vehicles, counter-measure systems and torpedoes. Agneyastra Energetics Limited and HFCL Limited will invest Rs 15 bn and Rs 12 bn in an energetics facility and an ammunition and fuse plant.

Officials said defence production had risen to Rs 1.54 trillion (tn) from Rs 460 bn in 2014 and could reach Rs 1.75 tn within one or two months, while defence exports had grown from about Rs 6 bn a decade ago to roughly Rs 400 bn today. The Chief Minister welcomed the projects and urged industry to design and make in Andhra Pradesh with state support. The event was attended by senior ministers, defence production officials and industry representatives.