Apollo Micro Systems shares jumped over 3% to ₹391.95 on the NSE following the successful completion of its Indian Navy project. The defence stock has delivered exceptional long-term returns, rallying by around 125% in one year and more than 3,250% in five years from its low of ₹11.58 per share. The latest surge comes after a gap-down opening, with the stock touching an intraday high of ₹391.95 per share on the NSE. Despite recent volatility, Apollo Micro Systems has delivered exceptional long-term returns of 594% over three years and 3,200% over five years, with the company's entry into precision defence segments representing significant strategic expansion into advanced defence manufacturing categories.
The company has successfully handed over the indigenously developed Safety & Detonation Device (SDD) to the Indian Navy, marking a significant milestone in defence self-reliance. According to Live Mint, the handover ceremony was conducted in the presence of Rear Admiral Rupak Barua, VSM, Director General of Naval Inspection (DGNAI), Indian Navy, along with senior officers of the Indian Navy and the leadership team of Apollo Micro Systems Limited. The Safety Arming Device is among the most critical and unforgiving sub-systems of any modern munition, serving as the final guardian between a weapon and its target ensuring absolute safety through storage, handling, transportation and launch. The successful indigenous development of the SDD is expected to significantly reduce procurement costs for the Indian Navy and enhance self-reliance in the defence sector, with the company fully geared to support series production and lifecycle sustenance of the SDD and its derivatives.
The company has been formally shortlisted and empanelled by the Indian Air Force (IAF) as a Prime Development Agency (DA) for the Indigenous Precision Range Extension Kit (IPREK) programme. As reported by Business Standard, this empanelment marks Apollo Micro Systems' entry into India's precision guided munition (PGM) segment as a Prime Development Agency, representing one of the highest-value, highest-barrier segments of the Indian defence manufacturing market. However, the empanelment does not constitute a commercial contract or firm order, with revenue accruing only after the issuance of a Project Sanction Order and subsequent procurement contract.
The IPREK programme operates under the Make-II (Industry Funded) category of India's Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 (DAP-2020), encouraging Indian companies to finance design and development of advanced military systems. According to Business Standard, the kit is a bolt-on precision guidance and range extension kit designed to transform India's existing inventory of General Purpose (GP) 500 Kg unguided bombs into long-range precision glide weapons. An IPREK-equipped weapon can be released from over 80-100 kilometres away and still land within 3 metres of its intended target, placing the carrier aircraft well beyond the reach of most air defence systems. The programme involves converting the IAF's existing inventory of 500 kg general-purpose unguided bombs into long-range precision glide weapons, with the initial procurement phase expected to cover more than 500 units following successful trials.
Baddam Karunakar Reddy, Managing Director of Apollo Micro Systems, described the IAF's selection as 'one of the most defining moments in our company's history'. As reported by CNBC TV18, Reddy emphasized that the programme brings together the company's work in guidance systems, electro-optical seekers, NavIC navigation, and airborne certification. The company believes the programme opens the door to a broader precision-guided weapons opportunity, with Apollo estimating India's precision-guided munitions import substitution market at more than ₹20,000 crore over the next decade. The technologies developed through the project, including indigenous navigation, mission computing and precision guidance, could be adapted for future missile and guided-weapon programmes across the armed forces, with the global precision weapons market projected to reach around $10 billion by 2032.
