Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visits Field Gun Factory in Kanpur

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday visited the Field Gun Factory, a unit of Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL), at Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

The factory specialises in manufacturing barrel and breach assemblies of various artillery guns and tanks including the T-90 tank and Dhanush gun.

During the visit, the Defence Minister inspected key facilities, including the Heat Treatment and the New Assembly Shop of the factory, to take stock of critical indigenous defence capabilities. He was accompanied by Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar and Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V. Kamat, according to a Defence Ministry statement.

Following the visit to the shop floor, Rajnath Singh was briefed by the CMDs of three Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) based in Kanpur -- AWEIL, Troop Comforts India Limited, Gliders India Limited (GIL) -- and Director of Defence Materials and Stores Research & Development Establishment, a DRDO laboratory located in Kanpur, the statement added.

During the presentations, the CMDs of the new DPSUs apprised the Defence Minister about the product profile, major ongoing projects, R&D efforts and modernisation activities being undertaken in their pursuit to meet the requirements of the services.

AWEIL specialises in manufacturing small, medium and large calibre gun systems. The main products of TCL are combat uniforms, ballistic protective gear, extreme cold clothing and tentages for high altitude. Whereas, GIL has the largest and oldest production unit of parachutes in India.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently said that the Modi government has prioritised the defence sector, and along with the promotion of indigenous manufacturing, was aiming at an export target of Rs 50,000 for military hardware by 2028-29.

He said that the government had corporatised the ordnance factories which had made them more technology-friendly and increased accountability which has resulted in an increase in production. He said that the government has also put its trust in indigenous companies such Hindustan Aeronautical Limited, Tata and L&T to boost the defence sector.