Key Points

The company signed a landmark contract with the Indian Navy under iDEX DISC-13 on June 28 to develop a multi-spectral camouflage cloak, a roll-on, roll-off system designed to protect assets on the ground from enemy radar using niche nanotechnology and metamaterials, according to an official statement on Monday.

This deeper dive into niche defence technologies comes in parallel with its dual-use strategic announcement of being awarded a USD 5 million joint research, development, and commercialisation project, funded under the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F), to build rugged autonomous drones for GPS-denied industrial environments, the statement mentioned.

"This is possible only because of the vision of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Extraordinary initiatives like iDex envisaged and implemented by the PM, allows innovators and startups to really reach for the stars, contributing small drops into the ocean of Atmanirbharta," said R Shivaraman, Co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of BBBS.

"From protecting frontline assets to building drones that navigate where humans and conventional UAVs cannot, our focus is survivability and practicality," Shivaraman added.

The contract will provide cloaking technologies to reduce the radar and thermal signatures of parked aircraft, making it harder for adversaries to target frontline air assets. Designed for quick deployment without interrupting operations, the cloak is a practical solution to a long-standing vulnerability, the company said.

Praveen Dwarakanath, CEO and Co-founder of the startup, also thanked iDex and the Ministry of Defence for trusting the company, highlighting how these milestones are a sign of growing indigenous defence development.

"What makes these milestones important is not just the technology, but the direction they represent. Indigenous development at home, collaboration abroad, and solutions that scale. That is the path forward for Indian deep-tech," the BBBS CEO said.

Together, the multispectral camouflage cloak and the rugged autonomous drone products highlight the company's dual focus. Defence survivability on one side, industrial resilience on the other. Both demand systems that are affordable, rugged, and scalable.

Big Bang Boom started its startup journey with a win of iDex 1 and iDex 2 projects: "See Thru Armor" and "Countermeasures against Illegal Drones" in 2019, both of which were successfully completed in 2022. The Indian Army and Air Force have awarded BBB contracts for large-scale procurement of the same.

Furthermore, BBB continued its journey with a SPRINT project for the Indian Navy, "Indigenous Morpene Compound," which was completed in six months and resulted in awarded contracts from the Indian Navy.

Furthermore, BBB has also won the iDex 5 and iDex 7 challenges, specifically the "Non-Lethal Vessel Immobiliser" and "Thermal Imaging Drone" projects, which are expected to be completed this year.

The Defence India Startup Challenge was launched by the Ministry of Defence in partnership with the Atal Innovation Mission, aiming to support startups, MSMEs, and innovators in creating prototypes and/or commercialising products/solutions in the area of National Defence and Security.

- ANI