Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], June 30 (ANI): Dr Jagannath Nayak Distinguished Scientist (DS) and Director CHESS has been appointed as Director General Missiles & Strategic Systems (DGMSS), DRDO with effect from July 1, 2026
Consequent to the superannuation of U Raja Babu DS & DG MSS, Nayak was appointed as DG (MSS), DRDO.
According to the release, Dr Jagannath Nayak is a distinguished Scientist & Director, Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS), DRDO, with over 35 years of experience in Defence Research & Development(R&D).
He is renowned for R&D in the indigenous design & development of advanced avionics for defence and aerospace applications.
As Director CHESS, Dr Nayak spearheaded the development, field testing, and Transfer of Technology (ToT) of India’s first Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) system, a major breakthrough in futuristic defence technologies.
Nayak completed an MS and received a PhD in Electrical Communication Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. He is the chief architect of Fibre Optic Gyro (FOG) guidance for Akash missiles and DEW-based Anti-Drone systems.
He spearheaded the indigenous development of Fibre Optic Gyroscopes (FOG) as Project Director at Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad, making India self-reliant in this critical technology now deployed across missiles, aircraft, and main battle tanks. Dr Nayak’s career exemplifies Scientific excellence, Visionary leadership, and Transformative contributions to India’s defence R&D.
He was the Founder Chairperson of the IEEE Photonics Society, Hyderabad Chapter. He was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at IISc Bangalore and IIT Madras from 2009 to 2014.
He has published more than 125 research papers in reputed journals and conference proceedings and authored several books. He is widely recognized for his expertise in Directed Energy Weapons, Inertial Navigation Systems, Lasers and Fiber Optics. He has guided more than Ten (10) Ph.D. students.
He is a recipient of several prestigious honours, including the Aryabhata Award from Astronautical Society of India, National Aeronautical Prize from Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI), DRDO Agni Award for Excellence in Self-Reliance, Nina Saxena Excellence in Technology Award, and the Aeronautical Society of India Swarna Jayanti Award.
He is a Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), Optical Society of India (OSI) and Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering (IETE), He is Distinguished Fellow of ASI, Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation (UK), Vice President of Optical Society of India (OSI) & Sensor Research Society (SRS) of India and Secretary, INAE Hyderabad Chapter. (ANI)
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