DRDO Pune Builds Lightweight STANAG Level 6 Armour for India's Next Tanks and Infantry Vehicles, Opens It to Industry
DRDO's R&DE(E) laboratory in Pune has developed and tested indigenous lightweight armour panels rated to stop 30 mm armour-piercing rounds (STANAG Level 6) for future tanks and infantry combat vehicles. On 1 October it invited Indian companies to license the technology, with three manufacturing licences on offer.
India’s next generation of tanks and infantry combat vehicles will need to balance ballistic protection with mobility and transport limits. DRDO’s Pune laboratory has developed lightweight armour panels for that problem, and it wants Indian industry to manufacture them.
The news
DRDO's Research and Development Establishment (Engineers), or R&DE(E), in Pune has developed and tested indigenous lightweight armour panels that meet STANAG-6 requirements, the protection level associated with 30 mm armour-piercing ammunition. On 1 October 2026, DRDO issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) inviting Indian companies to take up Transfer of Technology (ToT) for manufacturing the panels.
The official DRDO technology-transfer listing and reporting by The Defense News identify the following terms:
- The technology is listed under Category 'A', with three licences available.
- The ToT package includes the bill of materials, the manufacturing process, a quality assurance plan and test details.
- Interested Indian firms have 21 days from publication on the DRDO website to respond.
DRDO said the laboratory went through multiple design iterations and simulations before arriving at the lightweight solution, and that R&DE(E) also developed a novel manufacturing method for producing the panels. The panels are intended for next-generation main battle tanks, light tanks and Future Infantry Combat Vehicles (FICVs).
What STANAG Level 6 means
STANAG 4569 describes protection levels for armoured vehicles. This DRDO offering is specifically labelled STANAG-6 (30 mm AP), referring to armour-piercing ammunition. The EoI concerns panel-level protection; it does not establish certification of a complete vehicle, or performance against every ammunition type in the broader standard.
Why weight is the whole game
Stopping a 30 mm round is not hard if mass is no object; steel thick enough will do it. The difficulty is doing it within the weight budget of a vehicle that has to stay mobile. That is especially acute for India's light-tank and infantry vehicle programmes:
- Light tanks. High-altitude operations put particular pressure on weight, propulsion and transportability.
- Infantry combat vehicles. Protection must leave room for troops, weapons and sensors within the vehicle’s mass budget.
- Future main battle tanks. Additional protection has to be integrated with the chassis, suspension and mobility requirements.
Lighter armour at a higher protection level gives designers of all three more freedom to add firepower, sensors or fuel, or simply to keep vehicles within transport and bridging limits.
Why the ToT model matters
DRDO's role in the armour story is increasingly that of a designer and licensor rather than a producer. Offering three licences, rather than one, means multiple Indian manufacturers can qualify to produce the panels, which could diversify production if multiple firms qualify. It also lets firms building different vehicles, from tanks to wheeled carriers, integrate the same protection technology.
What to watch
The key questions now are which companies respond within the 21-day window, how quickly licensees can set up qualified production lines, and whether the panels are specified on Zorawar, FICV and FRCV production vehicles. DRDO has not publicly disclosed the areal density or exact composition of the panels, so the true weight advantage will become clear only when they appear on a vehicle.