The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has invited Indian private companies to apply as long-term manufacturing partners for missiles and guided bombs.The move aims to widen the country’s industrial base for advanced weapons production. DRDO had earlier used a similar partnership model to manufacture artillery guns for the Army.On Tuesday, DRDO issued an Expression of Interest (EOI) through Research Centre Imarat (RCI) in Hyderabad on behalf of its Missile and Strategic Systems (MSS) cluster. EOI seeks to identify and shortlist development-cum-production partners who will work with DRDO through both the development and eventual mass-production phases of weapon programmes.According to the DRDO website, the MSS cluster is “responsible for the design and development of state-of-the-art missiles and strategic systems required for the deterrence and defence of the country”. The cluster works on cutting-edge technologies such as ramjet and scramjet propulsion, guidance and homing systems, and warhead systems, among others. In simpler terms, systems like the intercontinental Agni missile and under-development hypersonic missiles fall under the MSS cluster.Under the proposed framework, DRDO will design and develop weapon systems. The shortlisted industry partners will handle integration, qualification and, ultimately, production.The eligibility criteria are stringent, reflecting the sensitivity and complexity of missile manufacturing. Applicant firms must have a minimum annual turnover of Rs 100 crore and a net worth of more than Rs 34 crore, which is at least 5 per cent of the estimated project value. They must also have been profitable in at least two of the last five years.Beyond financial health, companies must demonstrate in-house quality assurance systems certified to stringent aerospace standards. They must also have the capability to handle military-grade explosives based on RDX, TNT and their metal-powder combinations. Firms will additionally require an industrial license for defence manufacturing.DRDO plans that the selected partner firms will be embedded into engineering and technical teams — vetted through interviews conducted by DRDO — for the programme. They will manage procurement of hardware and software, and participate in system integration, checkout and qualification testing. They will also be responsible for maintaining production documentation and tooling, and for coordinating with DRDO’s designated supply chain for components.DRDO has said it will transfer technology to selected partners free of charge, on a non-exclusive basis, once a programme’s development phase is complete. However, transfers involving explosives, propellants or pyrotechnic materials will only be made to firms holding the requisite clearances.The initiative is the latest in a series of DRDO efforts to move beyond its traditional reliance on defence public sector undertakings and ordnance factories, and to bring private manufacturers more directly into the production of complex, high-value weapon systems as India seeks to expand domestic defence manufacturing capacity.