Defence minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a seven-storey facility for a flight control system at Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) in Bengaluru on Thursday. Singh said the facility built by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), will house research and development facilities for the development of a fifth-generation medium weight deep penetration fighter jet.
The DRDO used in-house developed hybrid technology for the construction of the Flight Control System (FCS) Complex at the ADE in Bengaluru, an official aware of the developments said.
The seven-storey building with an area of 1.3 lakh square feet was built by the DRDO in mere 45 days using in-house technology, according to a statement from DRDO.
“The DRDO completed the construction of a multi-storey infrastructure for flight control system at ADE Bengaluru with hybrid technology consisting of conventional, pre-engineered and precast methodology in record 45 days,” said one of the DRDO officials.
The foundation stone for the project was laid on November 22, 2021, and the construction began on February 1, 2022, providing the necessary state-of-the-art infrastructure to support the research and development (R&D) activities for FCS through composite construction technology in the shortest time frame. Built as per the standard national building code, the technical support for the project was provided by teams from IIT Madras and IIT Roorkee, the officials said.
The column and beam elements of the structural frame have been built with steel plates. The columns are made of concrete-filled steel with hollow cross-sections. The slabs were partially precast, and all these structural members were assembled at the site. No dry joints are present in the structure as concreting was done simultaneously to make the structure monolithically cast, unlike the case of precast construction, said the DRDO official.
{{/usCountry}}The column and beam elements of the structural frame have been built with steel plates. The columns are made of concrete-filled steel with hollow cross-sections. The slabs were partially precast, and all these structural members were assembled at the site. No dry joints are present in the structure as concreting was done simultaneously to make the structure monolithically cast, unlike the case of precast construction, said the DRDO official.
{{/usCountry}}The steel provides a permanent framework to the concrete core which reduces the time and effort drastically as compared to conventional construction. According to DRDO, the state-of-the-art complex has VRF air-conditioning system along with an electrical system and fire protection as per the standard national building code.
The DRDO official added that the complex will also have facilities for developing avionics for fighter aircraft and flight control system (FCS) for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) project.
India has been working on the ambitious AMCA project to develop a fifth-generation medium fighter jet with advanced stealth features to significantly bolster its air power capability. The initial development cost of the project, being undertaken by the ADE, has been estimated at around ₹15,000 crore.
The defence ministry on Monday said it has initiated the process of obtaining the approval for the design and prototype development of the AMCA from the Prime Minister-led Cabinet Committee on security. Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai was among those present on the occasion.
(With inputs from PTI)