DRDO's SSPL puts its GaN and GaAs chips and infrared detector arrays on show at ESTIC 2026
At ESTIC 2026, DRDO's Solid State Physics Laboratory showed home-grown GaN and GaAs microwave chips and infrared focal plane arrays already used in strategic missions, a sign of India's growing control over its defence electronics.
India's chip debate usually centres on commercial fabs and assembly plants. At the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC 2026), the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) used its stall to make a different point: India already designs and makes some of the most demanding chips in its weapons systems itself.
At the conclave, held from 27 to 29 October at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, DRDO's Delhi-based Solid State Physics Laboratory (SSPL) showed gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium nitride (GaN) monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs), multi-chip modules (MCMs) and infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPAs). DRDO also led a thematic session on next-generation chips.
What was on display
GaAs and GaN MMICs. These are radio-frequency chips that generate, amplify and switch microwave signals. They are at the heart of radar transmit-receive modules, electronic warfare (EW) jammers and satellite communication terminals. DD News reports that SSPL’s MMICs and multi-chip modules have supported strategic missions. This does not establish that every displayed device is operationally deployed.
GaN is useful for high-power radio-frequency electronics because of its wide bandgap and related material properties. Suitability still depends on circuit design, fabrication and thermal management; not every AESA radar uses GaN.
Infrared focal plane arrays. IRFPAs are the "retinas" of thermal cameras and missile seekers — grids of detectors that turn heat into an image. SSPL displayed arrays across short-wave (SWIR), mid-wave (MWIR) and long-wave infrared (LWIR) bands. Coverage of the event said these help missiles lock on to targets using infrared vision. They are also used in surveillance and night-vision systems.
Beyond chips. DRDO's wider exhibit included scramjet engine technology, neuromorphic accelerators (chips modelled on how the brain processes information), quantum random number generators, photonic integrated circuits and laser proximity sensors.
Why it matters
Strategic electronics are the part of the defence supply chain that India can least afford to import. Foreign suppliers can restrict GaN MMICs and cooled infrared detectors, delay them, or use them as diplomatic leverage. A domestic source protects programmes such as radars, seekers and EW suites from those risks. Domestic design also gives India freedom to upgrade. Engineers can change a chip's frequency band, power level or packaging to suit a new platform without waiting on a foreign vendor's roadmap or an export licence. And because the design files stay in India, so does the knowledge of how sensitive systems work.
The civilian connection
ESTIC is the government's flagship science and technology conclave. The conclave ran from 27 to 29 October. DRDO's presence there, rather than only at a defence show, reflects a policy push to transfer defence-developed technologies to industry. GaN power and RF devices have large civilian markets in 5G base stations, satellite ground terminals, EV chargers and fast power supplies. Indian start-ups and companies working on compound semiconductors could gain from access to SSPL's process know-how.
The challenge is scale. A strategic lab can make small batches for missiles and radars. Commercial markets need high-volume, low-cost production. Closing that gap — through transfer of technology, a commercial compound-semiconductor fab, or partnerships with India Semiconductor Mission projects — is what would turn DRDO's showcase into an industry.
Sources
- https://ddnews.gov.in/en/drdo-showcases-indigenous-semiconductor-technologies-leads-session-on-next-generation-chips-at-estic-2026/
- https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/business/drdo-showcases-indigenous-chips-for-advanced-radar-electronic-warfare-and-missile-systems/
- https://www.thestatesman.com/india/drdo-showcases-indigenous-semiconductor-sdvanced-chip-technologies-at-estic-2026-leads-key-session-on-next-generation-chips-1503657145.html
- https://www.indiastrategic.in/drdo-showcases-indigenous-semiconductor-technologies-next-generation-defence-innovations-at-estic-2026
- https://idrw.org/drdo-showcases-advanced-chip-technologies-at-estic-2026/
- https://indianmasterminds.com/news/defence/drdo-indigenous-chips-defence-systems-estic-2026-247021/
- https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2329291®=48&lang=2
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_State_Physics_Laboratory