New Delhi: The Indian Air Force has selected Hyderabad-based Apollo Micro Systems (AMS) as a development agency to build the Indigenous Precision Range Extension Kit (IPREK). The bolt-on system is designed to convert unguided 500kg bombs into precision-guided, long-range munitions.
The selection was made under the “Make II” category of the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020. Under this category, the company funds and develops the prototype before any procurement commitment from the armed forces.
The IPREK is not a standalone weapon. It is a guidance and wing kit that attaches to the Air Force’s existing general purpose 500kg bombs, extending their range from a few kilometres to between 80 and 100 kilometres while keeping strike accuracy to within three metres, according to the company.
The kit is designed to let aircraft release the bomb well outside the engagement range of enemy air defence systems, reducing risk to the aircraft and crew during a strike. AMS said, guidance is provided through a combination of India’s NavIC satellite constellation, electro-optical and infrared terminal seekers, and digital scene-matching for use when GPS signals are denied or jammed.
The company said it holds complete intellectual property rights over the kit’s guidance software, flight computer and integration architecture, and described the programme as being built without reliance on imported components. AMS has indicated an initial procurement phase of more than 500 units, though the Make II framework does not guarantee production orders and depends on the prototype clearing trials.
AMS, founded in 1985, has traditionally supplied electronic subsystems, including guidance, navigation and electro-optical components to the DRDO, the Air Force, Navy, Army and public sector defence undertakings. The IPREK award is among a series of recent contracts through which the company has moved from supplying components toward developing complete indigenous defence platforms.
That shift was also visible earlier this month, when the Indian Navy awarded AMS a Make II prototype sanction order for Savior-ASW, an unmanned, semi-submersible platform intended for anti-submarine surveillance. The system is designed to operate independently for extended periods, using acoustic sensors and AI-based classification tools to distinguish submarines from other underwater activity.
Neither programme has yet been formally inducted into service. Both remain at the prototype and trial stage under the Make II route.