DRDO-developed parachutes found with tears in fabric
30 Jul 2016
In a shocking revelation confirmed by defence minister Manohar Parrikar, some parachutes designed by a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory have been found to be defective.
Parrikar informed parliament that the parachutes designed by the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), one of the well-established and supposedly premier laboratories of DRDO, were meant to be used by Indian paratroopers.
The defence minister, confirming the appalling development, said that out of 42 parachutes tested, 14 were in working condition while 28 were found with a tear in the fabric, though the test jumps saw no casualties.
Parrikar, in a written response, mentioned that the conditional bulk production clearance was given by the Army itself. The fabric material was also approved and had no defects reported back then.
The minister also said that ADRDE is the only laboratory in DRDO that designs and develops parachutes and a whopping Rs228.25 lakh has already been spent on developing Combat Free Fall (CFF) parachutes.
Along with that, the company also designs and manufactures set ejection parachutes for fighter jets and recovery parachutes for heavy drop system. The minister confirmed that it is only the paratrooper parachutes that reported the issue.