Kalyani Group to Double Defence Business in 3 Years

By Editor 14-Jun-2018

Kalyani group is one of the bests in metallurgy globally and its rich experience in metallurgy gives Kalyani an upper and in defence manufacture. “We have a team of best engineers in the world and our research facilities are top-of-the-grade. Hence, applying it to defence industry is quite easy. Today, our revenue from defence business is about 10% of total revenue and we aim to double it in three years,” says Baba N Kalyani, Chairman, Kalyani Group.

Kalyani Group, one of the leading industrial houses in India, is working on doubling its defence business. This has been said by Baba N Kalyani, Chairman, Kalyani Group, while addressing a press briefing at DefExpo 2018, Chennai. “Today, our revenue from defence business is about 10% of total revenue and we aim to double it in three years. There are a lot of opportunities in defence export business, but the companies should have strong track record as it is challenging. We export a lot of products including ammunitions, spares for Russian equipment like tanks etc. Our export business is around Rs.100 Crores in defence. We are planning on increasing our defence exports too,” he said.

Metallurgy is fundamental to the defence industry as almost all defence weapons, electronics, equipment are made from strong metals only. Baba Kalyani has said that the group is leveraging its rich experience in metallurgy to conquering greater heights in defence manufacturing.

“Kalyani group is one of the bests in metallurgy globally. Our rich experience in metallurgy gives us an upper and in defence manufacture. We have a team of best engineers in the world and our research facilities are top-of-the-grade. Hence, applying it to defence industry is quite easy. If you look into history, all major defence manufacturers have started as metallurgical firms. Hence, we are completely leveraging our expertise to make the best defence products,” he said.

Recently the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), jointly developed by DRDO and Kalyani Group, has created record by achieving a range of 48 kilometres during a firing trial. Talking about the ATAGS, Baba N Kalyani has said that it would meet the requirements of the Army. For the last 30 to 35 years, there was no new artillery gun developed in India and the need for advanced guns has been a concern. As a landmark event, DRDO has developed the ATAGS to address the lack of artillery guns in the forces. DRDO has designed the gun and Kalyani Group manufactured it. 

“What makes this gun different is that it is fully electric. It will avoid maintenance problems like hydraulic or oil leakage. Moreover, it is built with a larger chamber of 27 litres which can take more propellant charges. So, the projectile can be detonated at a higher velocity. The result was pretty impressive as our gun achieved a range of 48 Kilometres which is 8kms longer than that of normal 155mm 52 Calibre guns. It fired to 48Kms consistently which would be major advantage in the battlefield. The entire process has been completed in just 18 months which is a record time for artillery platform,” he said.

ATAGS has completed its summer and winter trials in Pokhran and Sikkim respectively. Now the accuracy and consistency trials are about to begin, following which the gun will be given to army for user trials. Kalyani Group hopes to complete all processes in three months, he added.

While talking about Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems Pvt. Ltd. (KRAS), Kalyani Group’s joint venture with Israel’s Rafael, Baba Kalyani has said that KRAS has highly sophisticated infrastructure facilities and capabilities to produce advanced weapons and is production-ready. “KRAS located in Hyderabad, is for producing Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM), Advanced Air Defence Systems etc. As soon as we get some orders, we will start producing weapons. The facility has been set up also for export purposes,” Kalyani said.