Defence Minister Shri AK Antony today inaugurated the DRDO’s state-of-the-art composite propellant processing facility – ACEM (Advanced Centre for Energetic Materials) at Nasik in Maharashtra and dedicated the facility to the Nation.
“I am happy to dedicate this modern propellant processing facility to the nation. I congratulate all of you for reaching this milestone. I am sure the team of young scientists, guided by their experienced colleagues will deliver world class rocket motors and requirements for various strategic projects. The responsibility of making this facility one of the best in the world and making it Advanced in every sense of the word lies collectively upon all of you”, Shri Antony said in his inaugural speech.
The facility has been set up by HEMRL (High Energy Materials Research Laboratory), a Pune based DRDO laboratory engaged in research and development of high energy materials including solid rocket propellants. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Antony, said that today missiles have become one of the most important and effective means of delivering warheads. “Our strategic capability to boost our defence preparedness is judged by its weapon delivery.” He stated that despite doing well in many fields, we continue to be on the wrong side of the information divide. “Nations the world over are today judged by which side of the information divide they are on. I am sure that with the inauguration of this facility, we will take a small but significant step towards bridging this gap. ”
He further emphasized that nothing but unwavering and full faith in our own capabilities will help us in achieving our objective. Expressing satisfaction that most of the plant and machinery under embargo had been constructed indigenously. He stressed that to be more meaningful and to be sustained for a longer term, the indigenization process must be total and irreversible.
Dr. VK Saraswat, SA to RM, Secretary Defence R&D and DG DRDO, speaking on the occasion, said that this was not the end but the beginning of a longer journey as new and more efficient propellants will keep emerging, for which the facilities will need to be created. He stated that the users expectations was high and assured that DRDO will come up to these expectations.
Sh. S Sundaresh, Distinguished Scientist & Chief Controller Research & Development (Armament & Combat Engineering) stressed upon the need to identify additional land for the residential complex in the vicinity of the facility and sought the help of district administration in this regard.
ACEM has been set up as a dedicated facility, to meet the requirements of composite propellants for solid rocket motors during their development phase as well as the limited series production. The facility is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and machinery operated remotely through PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), thus, avoiding human exposure to hazardous processes.
It incorporates a large number of critical technologies and machinery, designed, developed and realized indigenously with the support of over 40 private firms participating in the endeavour. Many of these technologies and machinery such as special purpose mixers were inaccessible to India due to “denial regimes”. The mixers were designed and developed jointly by DRDO and Central Manufacturing Technology Institute, Bangalore. Thus, the Centre is equipped with highly advanced facilities for processing, NDT (Non-Destructive Testing), quality control, as well as static testing of various rocket motors. The installations have been made compliant to the applicable explosive safety norms and are equipped with integrated fire fighting system to ensure adequate safety.
The occasion was also graced by Shri Harishchandra Chavan, Member of Parliament, Shri Anil Sahebrao Kadam, local MLA and Dr. Subhananda Rao, Distinguished Scientist & Chief Controller Research & Development (Aeronautics) & Director HEMRL and Shri Avinash Chander-Distinguished Scientist & Chief Controller Research & Development (MSS).
Indian Press Information Bureau
