The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is looking towards the industry for the commercial production and marketing of a border surveillance system (BOSS) developed by it. Two prototypes of the system, developed by DRDO’s Dehradun-based Instruments Research and Development Establishment, were deployed in Ladakh for trials for over a year, sources said. Following requisite modifications and upgrading, the DRDO now wants it operationalised.
“Since DRDO is not a production agency, we are looking at transferring the technology to interested parties, both in private and public sector that can manufacture the system,” a senior DRDO scientist said. “We are willing to engage up to three firms for the project,” he added. BOSS can be deployed at unmanned observation posts for remote controlled all-weather day-and-night monitoring of designated areas. It consists of a battlefield surveillance radar along with electro-optical sensors like camera, infrared, thermal imager, laser ranger and GPS mounted on a pan-tilt unit.
It can detect a light vehicle at a distance of 10-12 km and a group of persons at 8-10 km while operating in temperatures from minus 30 to 55°C. Real time data and video can be transmitted over a distance of 20 km to a command post for up to 14 days.
The Army as well as border-guarding forces like the Border Security Force and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police Force could have a requirement for hundreds of such systems that can be deployed at vulnerable areas along the border in different types of terrain. Besides being a force multiplier and mitigating human stress in harsh terrain and inclement weather, the multitude of technologies involved in the system like radars, optics, hybrid power sources, electronics and communication, mechanical sub-systems and image processing also has spin-offs for the local industry.
