The programme is supported by the iDEX initiative and the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) under the Ministry of Defence. Under the contract, Tonbo Imaging will carry out system integration and commissioning work, followed by the supply of multiple production units after successful development, validation and acceptance.
High Power Microwave systems are emerging as a strategic non-kinetic defence capability, designed to disrupt or degrade adversary electronics, sensors and unmanned systems. Defence planners globally are increasingly viewing such systems as a countermeasure against drone swarms and asymmetric threats, particularly in maritime environments.
ADITI (Advanced Defence Technology Incubation) is a government-led initiative aimed at maturing and validating advanced defence technologies before induction. The selection of Tonbo Imaging under ADITI 3.0 signals the Navy’s continued focus on indigenously developed technologies aligned with long-term modernisation and electromagnetic spectrum dominance.
Commenting on the development, Arvind Lakshmikumar, Managing Director and CEO of Tonbo Imaging India Limited, said the programme carries “significant responsibility” in executing complex capability integration aligned with operational needs.
He added that the company has invested in indigenous development of core HPM building blocks, including sub-systems and vacuum tube sources. “We are among the very few private organisations to own core intellectual property in vacuum tube technologies that are fundamental to HPM systems,” he said.
Lakshmikumar noted that vacuum tube–based sources remain critical for HPM applications due to their ability to generate extremely high peak power and energy levels required for effective target coupling. He contrasted this with solid-state RF sources, saying they are currently unable to achieve comparable peak power and pulse energy levels within operational size, weight and efficiency constraints.
With the new engagement, Tonbo Imaging said its role is expanding beyond electro-optics into full-spectrum defence system integration, including advanced electronics, embedded software and emerging directed-energy systems, reflecting its transition into a broader defence technology systems company.
- For more: Elrisala website and for social networking, you can follow us on Facebook
- Source of information and images “economictimes.indiatimes”“
