Kannur (Kerala) [India], May 30 (ANI): Jaitheerth E Joshi, Director General of BrahMos Aerospace, has stressed the urgent need for robust collaboration between defence research, academic institutions, and industry to create hands-on-ready engineers, particularly for the Indian Navy and other defence services.

Speaking to ANI on the sidelines of the 25th convocation Ceremony held at the Indian Naval Academy (INA) in Kerala's Kannur, Joshi underlined the transformative role of emerging technologies, artificial intelligence, and machine learning in modern warfare and praised the Navy's proactive steps in adapting to these domains.

Highlighting the unique training needs of naval engineers, who often operate without ground support, Joshi said, 'Naval cadets trained in engineering must be prepared for onboard roles without base service support. Whether it's rectification, testing, or maintenance, they must operate independently. We plan to make them self-sufficient through advanced training modules.'

He noted that the vision would be realised through a training initiative run in coordination with the centres of excellence created by DRDO at IITs, NITs, and institutions like the Defence Institute of Armament Technology, along with close coordination with the Naval Academy.

Applauding the INA's academic partnership with Jawaharlal Nehru University, he stressed that academic societies like the Indian Society for Non-Destructive Testing and the Institute of Electronics, in collaboration with premier engineering institutions, can enhance skill development and bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical defence needs.

'This will provide intensive internships and hands-on training tailored to their respective engineering domains,' he said, citing a plan to assign mechanical engineers to missile or armament clusters and electronic graduates to electronic warfare units. He described the initiative as tri-sector collaboration between academia, Research and Development and Industry.

Joshi also detailed a structured research and production model in which academia handles initial research (Technology Readiness level (TRL) 1-3), applied research (TRL-4-6) is jointly undertaken with industry, and advanced production stages (TRL-79) are led by private manufacturers.

'This synergy ensures faster innovation and production readiness,' he said.

He said the DRDO is actively supporting start-ups with funding and integrating students into the defence ecosystem as early as their third or fourth year. Many of these students are being trained in DRDO labs, gaining domain-specific exposure and working alongside defence personnel.

Joshi further acknowledged the value of service officers' experience joining DRDO through secondment, post-retirement roles, or lateral entries.

'They bring real-time warzone insight. Their understanding of frontline demands helps us design systems that are service-friendly,' he said, stressing the importance of feedback from those who would eventually use these systems in combat.

The BrahMos chief was also optimistic about reversing brain drain, saying that the pace at which people were leaving the country has slowed.

'Global industrial turmoil and domestic growth have encouraged our talent to stay back. India's growing industrial ecosystem, improved job prospects, and initiatives under the Atmanirbhar Bharat mission are reversing the trend,' he added.

BrahMos Aerospace, which manufactures the supersonic cruise missile, is a joint venture between India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya.

The basic version of BrahMos missile has a flight range of upto 290 km with supersonic speed all through the flight, leading to shorter flight time, consequently ensuring lower dispersion of targets, quicker engagement time, and non-interception by any known weapon systems in the world, according to BrahMos Aerospace.

The induction of the first version of BrahMos weapon complex in the Navy commenced in 2005. Army also has inducted many BRAHMOS regiments since 2007. The Air Force has also successfully launched cruise missile system armed with Sukhoi-30 MKI. (ANI)