BEL Awards RRP Defense a ₹29.8 Crore Order for Germanium Lenses Used in Thermal Imaging Systems

Bharat Electronics Limited has awarded a ₹29.8 crore order to Goa-based RRP Defense for supplying high-precision germanium lenses used in thermal imaging and infrared defence systems. The lenses are important for night-vision devices, surveillance systems and weapon sights. The deal supports India’s defence indigenisation push.

New Delhi: Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has placed an order worth about ₹29.8 crore with RRP Defense, a Goa-based private manufacturer of electro-optical and thermal imaging equipment, for the supply of high-precision germanium lenses intended for infrared and thermal imaging applications in defence platforms.

The lenses, which RRP Defense will design, engineer, and customize to BEL’s technical specifications, form a core optical element in electro-optic systems that include thermal cameras, surveillance equipment, weapon sights, and target acquisition platforms.

Germanium is preferred over conventional optical glass in these applications because of its efficiency in transmitting infrared radiation, a property that makes it difficult to replace in night-vision and low-visibility defence systems.

BEL, a Navratna defence public sector undertaking under the ministry of defence, is one of India’s largest manufacturers of defence and communication equipment.

Its product range spans radar systems, electronic warfare equipment, communication systems, night-vision devices, and missile systems, among others. Germanium-based optics are an integral input for several of these product lines.

The order follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between BEL and the RRP Group that covered cooperation across semiconductors, electro-optics, unmanned systems, and related advanced defence technologies. The terms of that MoU, including its financial scope and timeline, have not been disclosed publicly.

RRP Group founder on defence deal

Rajendra Chodankar, founder and chairman of the RRP Group of Companies, described the contract as a validation of the firm’s precision optical engineering credentials.

“Germanium lenses are mission-critical components that define the performance and reliability of thermal imaging systems,” he said, adding that the company intended to build electro-optical solutions “designed and manufactured in India for strategic and global applications.”

RRP Defense, part of the broader RRP Group, has positioned itself within India’s expanding defence indigenization drive. The company’s product portfolio includes thermal imaging sights, thermal cameras, reflex sights, and surveillance systems. It has also declared investments in UAV platforms and semiconductor-linked technologies, though the scale and stage of those investments have not been independently verified.