<p>India’s missile and military aircraft manufacturers are setting up new assembly lines to produce more indigenous missiles and combat and utility helicopters for the armed forces.<br /><br /></p>.<p>While missile maker Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad, is setting up three new production units, Bangalore-based aviation major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has asked the defence estates department to locate 1,000 acres of land for setting up a new division for helicopters, Defence Minister A K Antony said in the Lok Sabha on Monday.<br /><br />Bidar in north Karnataka and Butibori in Maharashtra were inspected by HAL officials for the purpose. But no decision has been taken yet.<br /><br />BDL is setting up new units at Visakhapatnam and Ibrahimpatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Amravathi in Maharashtra. <br /><br />The Visakhapatnam unit, sources said, will manufacture light-weight torpedoes for the Indian Navy. BDL has acquired 10.32 acres. <br /><br />A Rs 76-crore factory is scheduled to be completed by December 2013.<br /><br />The factory will produce an electrically propelled, self-homing torpedo that can be launched from ships and helicopters. It can hunt submarines at 33 knots, with an endurance of six minutes in shallow and deep waters.<br /><br />The other two BDL units are bigger. The 553-acre unit at Amravathi will be used to set up an assembly line for the Akash surface-to-air-missiles. The Army has placed a Rs 14,000-crore order for two regiments of Akash missiles for air defence. An order from the Indian Air Force is also expected.</p>
<p>India’s missile and military aircraft manufacturers are setting up new assembly lines to produce more indigenous missiles and combat and utility helicopters for the armed forces.<br /><br /></p>.<p>While missile maker Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad, is setting up three new production units, Bangalore-based aviation major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has asked the defence estates department to locate 1,000 acres of land for setting up a new division for helicopters, Defence Minister A K Antony said in the Lok Sabha on Monday.<br /><br />Bidar in north Karnataka and Butibori in Maharashtra were inspected by HAL officials for the purpose. But no decision has been taken yet.<br /><br />BDL is setting up new units at Visakhapatnam and Ibrahimpatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Amravathi in Maharashtra. <br /><br />The Visakhapatnam unit, sources said, will manufacture light-weight torpedoes for the Indian Navy. BDL has acquired 10.32 acres. <br /><br />A Rs 76-crore factory is scheduled to be completed by December 2013.<br /><br />The factory will produce an electrically propelled, self-homing torpedo that can be launched from ships and helicopters. It can hunt submarines at 33 knots, with an endurance of six minutes in shallow and deep waters.<br /><br />The other two BDL units are bigger. The 553-acre unit at Amravathi will be used to set up an assembly line for the Akash surface-to-air-missiles. The Army has placed a Rs 14,000-crore order for two regiments of Akash missiles for air defence. An order from the Indian Air Force is also expected.</p>
