In line with its commitment to Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Bharat @2047, the Indian Army has signed a procurement contract under Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX). The contract for procurement of a Fire Fighting Robot was executed with M/s Swadeshi Empresa Pvt Ltd on 13 January 2026 at the Capability Development Directorate of Indian Army.
Developed under the iDEX framework for the Indian Navy, the Fire Fighting Robot is being procured by the Indian Army for the first time by leveraging the enabling provision to acquire iDEX products developed for a sister Service, based on their Single Stage Composite Trial (SSCT). This initiative strengthens the defence start-up ecosystem and further underscores jointness and integration in defence technology development.
The Fire Fighting Robot is a compact and versatile unmanned ground vehicle designed to operate in hazardous fire-fighting environments where direct human intervention is risky. It enables fire-fighting operations from a safe distance, significantly enhancing personnel safety during critical response and emergency scenarios for Indian Army firefighters.
iDEX, under the Defence Innovation Organisation, has emerged as a key enabler in connecting the Armed Forces with start-ups and innovators, and has gained strong traction within the defence start-up community. The Indian Army is undertaking spiral development of its already delivered iDEX projects and is progressing nearly 22 iDEX projects towards trials following completion of prototype development.
