The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is an agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India, charged with the military's research and development, headquartered in New Delhi, India. It was formed in 1958 by the merger of the Technical Development Establishment and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production of the Indian Ordnance Factories with the Defence Science Organisation under the administration of Jawaharlal Nehru. Subsequently, Defence Research & Development Service (DRDS) was constituted in 1979 as a service of Group 'A' Officers. Scientists directly under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence.
With a network of 52 laboratories that are engaged in developing defence technologies covering various fields like aeronautics, armaments, electronics, land combat engineering, life sciences, materials, missiles, and naval systems, DRDO is India's largest and most diverse research organisation. The organisation includes around 5,000 scientists belonging to the DRDS and about 25,000 other subordinate scientific, technical, and supporting personnel.
History
DRDO has its origins in the Defence Science Organisation (DSO), which developed under D. S. Kothari, who became first Scientific Adviser to the Ministry of Defence in July 1948. His work led to the beginning of the DSO in June 1949, and by that October that year, its first batch of 15 scientists joined. In 1958, the DSO merged with the Indian Army's Technical Development Establishments and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production to establish DRDO, initially comprising ten laboratories or establishments, with Kothari as its first Director General.
A separate Department of Defence Research and Development was formed in 1980, which later administered DRDO and its almost 30 laboratories and establishments (there were almost 52 labs before merging). Most of the time, the Defence Research and Development Organisation was treated as if it were a vendor and the Army Headquarters or the Air Force Headquarters were the customers. Because the Army and the Air Force themselves did not have any design or construction responsibility, they tended to treat the designer or Indian industry at par with their corresponding designer in the world market. If they could get a MiG-21 from the world market, they wanted a MiG-21 from DRDO.
Beginning in the 1970s, the Indian Air Force launched a covert effort to develop and indigenise ground-based radar systems to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers. Working alongside DRDO labs like LRDE, the IAF helped shape indigenous radar programs such as the Indra and Rohini series. This quiet but determined initiative laid the groundwork for India's broader air defence modernisation.
DRDO started its first major project in surface-to-air missiles (SAM) known as Project Indigo in the 1960s. Indigo was discontinued in later years without achieving full success. Project Indigo led Project Devil, along with Project Valiant, to develop short-range SAM and ICBM in the 1970s. Project Devil itself led to the later development of the Prithvi missile under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) in the 1980s. IGMDP was an Indian Ministry of Defence programme between the early 1980s and 2007 for the development of a comprehensive range of missiles, including the Agni missile, Prithvi ballistic missile, Akash missile, Trishul missile and Nag Missile. In 2010, the defence minister A. K. Antony ordered the restructuring of the DRDO to give a major boost to defence research in the country and to ensure effective participation of the private sector in defence technology. The key measures to make DRDO effective in its functioning include the establishment of a Defence Technology Commission with the defence minister as its chairman. The programmes which were largely managed by DRDO have seen considerable success with many of the systems seeing rapid deployment as well as yielding significant technological benefits. Since its establishment, DRDO has created other major systems and critical technologies such as aircraft avionics, UAVs, small arms, artillery systems, EW Systems, tanks and armoured vehicles, sonar systems, command and control systems and missile systems.
In 2024, DRDO tested India's first long-range hypersonic missile, that is able to carry conventional and nuclear warheads to a distance exceeding 1,500 km at a 3 km per second speed. In June 2025, DRDO put forward an offer for 28 of its designed and developed weapon systems for emergency procurement to the Indian Armed Forces, which included various types of DRDO designed and developed missiles and ammunition. DRDO also gave the names of the agencies that produce the 28 products from which the Indian Armed Forces can procure the weapon systems. On August 23, 2025, DRDO successfully conducted the maiden flight test of the Integrated Air Defence Weapon System (IADWS) off the Odisha coast. This multi-layered air defence platform integrates indigenous components such as QRSAM, VSHORADS, and a Directed Energy Weapon. On November 14, 2025, DRDO announced the development of new generation Man-portable Autonomous underwater vehicles (MP-AUVs) by the Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam for mine countermeasure missions. The AUVs are equipped with Side Scan Sonar and Under Water cameras as primary payloads for real-time detection & classification of Mine-Like Objects.
Plans for reforms The Government of India has plans to overhaul and reform DRDO, and a committee was formed in 2023 to suggest reforms and overhauls. The 9-member committee, which was under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), was led by former Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, K. Vijayraghavan. The committee submitted its report on the reforms for DRDO in July 2024. Reportedly, the recommendations from the committee have been described as contentious and it was also reported that the DRDO has agreed to implement approximately 60% of the major reforms. As of October 2024, the implementation of structural reforms has been delayed due to opposition from senior DRDO officials.
DRDO 2.0 Under the new strategy known as DRDO 2.0, which aims to prepare India for the next era of warfare, DRDO is shifting its focus from the development of conventional weapons to next-generation technologies like directed energy weapons, photonics, quantum systems, and artificial intelligence, according to Director General for Electronics & Communication Systems Dr. B.K. Das. While DRDO remains committed in a limited capacity, offering 10 to 20 percent support, it is turning over most of the development and manufacturing of conventional systems to the private sector from 2025. While allowing industrial partners to increase production, DRDO will focus on long-term strategic research.
Organisation
Cluster Laboratories/Establishments +SourceLaboratory NameLocationArea of ResearchAdvanced Systems Laboratory (ASL)Hyderabad, TelanganaMissiles & Strategic SystemsAerial Delivery Research & Development Establishment (ADRDE)Agra, Uttar PradeshParachutes & Aerial SystemsAeronautical Development Establishment (ADE)Bengaluru, KarnatakaAeronauticsAeronautical Test Range (ATR)Chitradurga, KarnatakaUnmanned & Manned AircraftArmaments Research & Development Establishment (ARDE)Pune, MaharashtraArmamentsCentre for Airborne Systems (CAbS) Bengaluru, KarnatakaAir-Borne SystemsCentre for Artificial Intelligence & Robotics (CAIR)Artificial Intelligence & RoboticsCentre for Fire, Explosives & Environment Safety (CFEES)Delhi, National Capital Territory of DelhiExplosivesCentre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS)Hyderabad, TelanganaHigh Energy WeaponsCombat Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (CVRDE)Chennai, Tamil NaduCombat VehiclesCombat Aircraft Systems Development & Integration Centre Bengaluru, KarnatakaAvionicsDefence Bio-engineering & Electro-medical Laboratory (DeBEL)Bio-engineeringDefence Electronics Applications Laboratory (DEAL)Dehradun, UttarakhandElectronics & Communication SystemsDefence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL)Mysuru, KarnatakaFood ResearchDefence Institute of Bio-Energy Research (DIBER)Haldwani, UttarakhandBio-EnergyDefence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR)Leh, LadakhHigh Altitude Agro-animal ResearchDefence Institute of Physiology & Allied Sciences (DIPAS)Delhi, National Capital Territory of DelhiPhysiological and Biomedical Research Defence Institute of Psychological Research (DIPR)Psychological ResearchDefence Laboratory (DL)Jodhpur, RajasthanCamouflaging and IsotopesDefence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL)Hyderabad, TelanganaElectronic WarfareDefence Materials & Stores Research & Development Establishment (DMSRDE)Kanpur, Uttar PradeshTextiles, Polymers & CompositesDefence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL)Hyderabad, TelanganaMetallurgyDefence Research & Development Establishment (DRDE)Gwalior, Madhya PradeshChemical & Biological WarfareDefence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL)Hyderabad, TelanganaMissile & Strategic SystemsDefence Research Laboratory (DRL)Tezpur, AssamHealth & HygieneDefence Terrain Research Laboratory (DTRL)Delhi, National Capital Territory of DelhiTerrain ResearchGas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE)Bengaluru, KarnatakaGas TurbineHigh Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL)Pune, MaharashtraHigh Energy Materials, ExplosiveInstitute of Nuclear Medicines & Allied Sciences (INMAS)Delhi, National Capital Territory of DelhiNuclear MedicineInstruments Research & Development Establishment (IRDE)Dehradun, UttarakhandElectronics & Optical SystemsIntegrated Test Range (ITR)Balasore, OdishaMissile & Strategic SystemsJoint Cipher Bureau (JCB)Delhi, National Capital Territory of DelhiCryptanalysisElectronics & Radar Development Establishment (LRDE)Bengaluru, KarnatakaRadarsMicrowave Tube Research and Development Centre (MTRDC)Microwave Tubes & High Power MicrowavesCentre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CeMilAC)Air-worthiness and CertificationNaval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL)Ambarnath, MaharashtraNaval MaterialsNaval Physical & Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL)Kochi, KeralaSonar SystemsNaval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL)Visakhapatnam, Andhra PradeshUnderwater WeaponsProgramme Air Defence (PGAD)Hyderabad, TelanganaMissiles & Strategic SystemsProof and Experimental Establishment (PXE)Balasore, OdishaArmament TestingResearch Centre Imarat (RCI)Hyderabad, TelanganaMissile & Strategic SystemsResearch & Development Establishment (Engineers) (R&DE(E))Pune, MaharashtraEngineering Systems & Weapon PlatformsScientific Analysis Group (SAG)DelhiCommunications SecuritySnow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE)Chandigarh, Union Territory of ChandigarhSnow and AvalancheSolid State Physics Laboratory (SSPL)Delhi, National Capital Territory of DelhiSolid State Materials, Devices and Sub-systemsSociety for Integrated Circuit Technology and Applied Research (SITAR)Bengaluru, Karnataka & Hyderabad, TelanganaSemiconductor, Microelectromechanical Systems Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL)Chandigarh, Union Territory of ChandigarhBallisticsVehicles Research & Development Establishment (VRDE)Ahmednagar, MaharashtraWheeled Vehicles As part of the rationalization plan, the Defence Terrain Research Laboratory (DTRL) was merged with the Snow and Avalanche Studies Establishment (SASE) which was renamed into the Defence Geological Research Establishment (DGRE). As of 2020, the Advanced Numerical Research and Analysis Group (ANURAG) and Laser Science and Technology Center (LASTEC) are no longer functional as independent entities. The staff are relocated to various DRDO labs in Hyderabad. DRDO is planning to build a new research lab in Lucknow.