Aero India 2025 | Military gadgets that can be used by civilians jostle for space

Bengaluru: Wind energy usually means elaborate set up with wind turbines stretching along the horizon. But Usha-Urja, a humble device indigenously developed by Indian Air Force harvests wind energy almost out of nothing, an officer said.

Jostling for space among the Aero India 2025's eye-catching innovations, this humble contraption may not be worth a second glance for many. But this equipment creates electricity at high altitudes and extreme cold weather conditions when plugged into a generator that sits compactly in a military-edition suitcase.

Usha-Urja's 'wind turbine' makes use of what looks like two split open PVC pipes twisted into an awkward shape onto a base that can be expanded.

This is part of the indigenous innovations of IAF being displayed at Aero India 2025 show on till February 14 at Yelahanka Airforce Base, Bengaluru.

Usha-Urja is a life-saving device for the military in areas where environmental conditions degrade performance of battery-operated generators or the conventional diesel generators.

"People should pay attention to Usha-Urja, because it is one of our few inventions that is open for civilian use or dual use in military parlance," Group Captain KDA Rajesh from Maintenance Command of IAF told PTI.

The prototype costs IAF Rs 5.67 lakh but eventually it could be reduced to Rs 4.14 lakh. When adapted to civilian use, this could further reduce based on the units sold, said Rajesh.

Another indigenously developed contraption mounted on a tripod that Rajesh proudly points to, which is also open for "dual use", is a drone interception wall and repulsion system.

"This is a low-cost anti drone system that builds on the concept of RF signal jamming and acts as a 500m virtual wall against drones," said Rajesh.

This repulsion system can be extremely useful in any security or surveillance systems and it's estimated to cost only Rs 65,000, said Rajesh.

At another end of the hall sits another little innocuous looking gem -- a real time aircraft tracking system (RTAT) box -- that plugs into NaviC, a satellite-based navigation developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and SatCom or Satellite Communication to deduct the exact location.

Yet another IAF 'success story' that could be deployed for civilian use.

"To put it simply, remember the Malaysian Airlines airplane that went missing without a trace? That wouldn't have happened if they had this RTAT box inside the airplane," said the Group Captain, incharge of RTAT exhibit at Aero Show, who did not want to be named.

According to him, the box provides continuous and automatic updates on its position every four seconds to the ground station.

This cost-effective contraption could be a great value-add for any airline, added the Group Captain.

Not far from Indigenous Exposition of IAF is the Indian Army's display of its indigenously developed 'solutions' for its pressing problems. But it consisted mostly of nuts and bolts and pistons.

That is because Indian Army's indigenous efforts are mostly for 'sustenance', said Brigadier Salash Uniyal, in charge of indigenisation at the Directorate of Indigenisation.

"Basically our inventory consists of technology imported from places like Russia, for which we had to find local solutions to, or we will be forced to discard them for lack of parts and such. So we focus on maintenance rather than invention," said Brigadier Uniyal.

For instance, the Indian Army could now manufacture Shell 155MM HE 107, a high-explosive payload used over long distances, thanks to indigenous interventions. Earlier they used to import them from Sweden, pointed out Brigadier Uniyal.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) too has displayed its indigenously developed technology at Aero India 2025.

But except for a high-definition surveillance camera displayed there which uses sensors for creating real target imagery, currently being used by Indian Navy and Border Security Force, nothing is open for conversion to civilian use, said Sathish Anthony, Technical Officer, Directorate of management services of DRDO.