Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis welcomes Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh as he arrives at Shirdi airport, in Ahilyanagar on Saturday. | Photo Credit: ANI

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday flagged off the first batch of Suryastra Universal Rocket Launchers from Nibe Ltd’s upcoming facility in Shirdi for induction into the Indian Army, marking partial fulfilment of a ₹293 crore emergency procurement order awarded to the company in January to strengthen the country’s precision firepower capabilities.

Speaking at the flag off function, Singh said the program is full of milestones. The first is, the inauguration of a modern factory for manufacturing artillery shells, which will have an annual capacity to produce 5 lakh shells. The second is the laying of the foundation stone for a missile complex associated with the Universal Rocket Launching System. The third is signing a contract with US company Black Sky that will take our private industry to the heights, he said.

“We have experienced that the country which manufactures its own weapons is the one that writes its own destiny. The situation today, my fellow citizens, is that foreign companies also want to join us, want to do technology transfer with us,” he told a large gathering. 

He also stated that private players participation in defence has gone up to 25-30 per cent and he expects it to further climb to 50 per cent in times to come.

Nibe Group’s ₹3,000-crore defence manufacturing complex was also inaugurated. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, DRDO Chairman Samir V Kamat and Nibe Group CMD Ganesh Nibe were among top dignitaries present at the event.

Developed using technology from Israel’s Elbit Systems and in-house R&D, the Suryastra system successfully underwent firing trials on May 18 and 19 at the Integrated Test Range. According to the company, the system features “shoot-and-scoot” capabilities and can fire multiple types of munitions, including precision-guided rockets in the 150-km to 300-km class, as well as loitering munitions with ranges of up to 100 km.

The company’s Chief Technical Officer, Balakrishnan Swamy, said projections indicate that the Indian Army could eventually require seven to nine regiments of the Suryastra Universal Rocket Launcher system, potentially valued at around ₹6,000 crore in the long term.

Swamy said the rollout marks the beginning of a major expansion in Nibe Group’s defence manufacturing operations. The company plans to invest ₹10,000 crore over time, boost local supply chain and generate around 5,000 jobs.

Swamy further said the company is also developing an indigenous drone with a range of 1,000 km, which is expected to be ready for demonstration within six months. The project is believed to draw lessons from the battlefield success of Iran’s Shahed kamikaze drones in conflicts involving the US and Israel.

Separately, the company plans to enter into a joint venture with Elbit Systems to establish an ammunition park spread over 2,000 acres in Ahmednagar for the production of explosives such as TNT, RDX and HMX. Citing strong global demand for explosives and munitions amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, Swamy said several European customers had already made advance payments for supplies.

“In fact, some of our customers from Europe have already given us advances for supply. We have committed to begin deliveries from March next year,” he said.

Responding to a question on whether products manufactured through partnerships with Israeli firms would also be exported to Israel, Swamy said the output would indeed support Israeli defence requirements.

“The production that we undertake will also be supplied to the Israeli defence forces. Today, Elbit Systems is looking for a strategic, trustworthy and sustainable partner considering the current geopolitical situation. They want a facility outside Israel from where they can ensure uninterrupted supplies for their armed forces,” he said.

Apart from defence manufacturing, the group is also expanding into the space sector. Swamy said the company has signed an agreement with an American firm to launch three earth observation satellites aimed at reducing revisit time for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) activities from four hours to less than 90 minutes. According to him, one of the satellites could be launched by July or August, subject to schedule and technical clearances.

Published on May 23, 2026