India ready to export state-of-the-art weapons, missiles to other countries: Manohar Parrikar.

HYDERABAD: Defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday said that the state of-the-art weapons and missile systems produced in India would be sold in the international market.

"The partnership between the DRDO and industries is transforming our country into a global defence manufacturing hub. This synergy has provided the much-needed thrust for exporting our defence products globally . We are taking necessary initiatives in this direction and I am sure that our state-of-the-art missiles and weapon systems will garner interest in the global markets and generate foreign exchange," he said.

The minister visited DRDO's Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Missile Complex in the city on Monday. At the Research Centre Imarat (RCI) he reviewed the ongoing missile technologies and related programmes. S Christopher, secretary , DD&D and chairman, DRDO, along with G Satheesh Reddy , scientific advisor to Raksha Mantri, and director general, missiles and strategic systems briefed Parrikar on various technological developments.

Parrikar congratulated the DRDO scientists for the recent successful missions including smart anti-airfield weapon, long-range ballistic missiles Agni V and Agni IV, guided Pinaka and Astra. "There is a lot of knowledge and infrastructure base with the DRDO and the same needs to be tapped by the MSME and private industries, which in turn will lead to wards the establishment of a self-reliant defence industrial ecosystem in our country," Parrikar said.