To reduce thermal and radar signatures the Indian Army has placed its first order for Integrated Mobile Camouflage Systems (IMCS) for Mechanised Forces with an Indian start-up Hyper Stealth Technologies Private Limited. This is the first ever procurement order of an Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) project by the Indian Army. The contract, which was signed on March 14, 2023, marks a significant milestone in the Indian Army’s efforts to promote innovation and technological development in defence and aerospace.
The procurement order is for an indigenously developed ‘Integrated Mobile Camouflage System (IMCS)’ for Mechanised Forces. The IMCS comprises low emissivity and/or CAM-IIR coatings and mobile camouflage system materials that enable armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) to blend in with their terrain background, significantly enhancing capability in stealth for AFVs. This niche technology is expected to considerably boost indigenous stealth technology, facilitating Aatmanirbharta in line with the Government of India’s (GoI) vision.
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The IMCS reportedly achieves a reduction in the detection range of AFVs when viewed through a Hand Held Thermal Imager (HHTI)/Battle Field Surveillance Radar (BFSR) tank-based thermal camera under given environmental and weather conditions and signature management by controlling the Visual, Thermal, Infra-red and Radar Signatures of the object.
According to the Ministry of Defence IMCS was the first system to be trial evaluated as per ‘Single Stage Composite Trial’ methodology. This is based on the revised DAP 2020. And Request for Proposal (RfP) was issued last September to the developing agency and the contract has been signed in six months. Balance Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) accorded iDEX projects of the Indian Army are also under finalization and mid-next month an agreement is expected to be finalized.
The awarding of the procurement order to Hyper Stealth Technologies Private Limited is a testament to the Indian Army’s commitment to promoting innovation and technological development in defence and aerospace, and it is a significant achievement for the start-up community. It is a positive step towards achieving the government’s vision of Aatmanirbharta and promoting indigenous stealth technology.
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Managed by the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) under the Ministry of Defence (MoD) (DDP), iDEX has emerged as a front-runner in establishing the right contact with start-ups and innovators and has gained substantial traction in the defence start-up community. Currently, there are a total of 48 projects of the Indian Army as part of the Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC), Open Challenges, iDEX4 Fauji and iDEX PRIME scheme, involving handholding of 41 start-ups for the development of the latest state-of-the-art solutions for the challenges posed by the Indian Army.