Dr Jagannath Nayak appointed as DRDO Director General (Missiles & Strategic Systems)
Dr Jagannath Nayak, Director of CHESS and a distinguished DRDO scientist, has been appointed Director General (Missiles & Strategic Systems). A veteran researcher, he has led the development of India's first Directed Energy Weapon system and advanced indigenous avionics and guidance technologies.
Published Date - 30 June 2026, 05:01 PM
Hyderabad: 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.
With over 35 years of experience in Defence Research & Development(R&D), Dr Nayak is renowned for R&D in the indigenous design & development of advanced avionics for defence and aerospace applications. As Director CHESS, he 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.
Dr Jagannath 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 also spearheaded the indigenous development of Fiber Optic Gyroscopes (FOG) as Project Director at Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad.
He has published more than 125 research papers in reputed journals and conference proceedings and authored several books.