Hello, Warriors! In a boost to the Navy’s frontline defence, union defence minister Manohar Parrikar dedicated a Seakeeping and Manoeuvring Basin (SMB) to the Indian Navy at the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) on 14th November, 2015.
SMB facility is one of its kind in the country, set up as a joint effort of DRDO and Indian Navy, the facility puts India among the few nations in the world having the capability to undertake comprehensive hydrodynamic model testing of naval platforms and weapon systems.
SMB would help to design and build state-of-the-art naval combatants such as submarines, ships, torpedoes, etc.
The Minister also handed over Maareech – Advanced Torpedo Defence System developed by DRDO to the Navy Chief.
‘Maareech’, developed by the Naval Physical & Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi, and NSTL, Vizag in coordination with the Indian Navy, is the best success story of the ‘Make in India’ programme.
Varunastra, a heavy torpedo, designed and developed by the NSTL, has gone through user evaluation trials and a clearance is awaited for its production.
It came as a result of close coordination between DRDO and the Indian Navy which would enhance indigenousness in defence systems.
It is a state-of-the-art indigenous system for torpedo detection and countermeasures. This system offers a complete solution to detect and locate the incoming torpedo and to apply countermeasures to protect naval platform against torpedo attack.
Forty systems have already been procured and are being deployed in the Indian Navy ships.
