Indian Navy warships to induct third generation sonar technology

Kochi: The Indian Navy is planning to expand its blue water capabilities with larger numbers of indigenously built platforms, which can carry out underwater surveillance and anti-submarine warfare operations, minister of state for defence, MM Pallam Raju said Wednesday.

Speaking at a function in Kochi after formally handing over the technology for the third generation ship sonar HUNSA NG to Bharat Electronics Ltd, Raju said these sonars would be fitted on a range of Indian Navy warships including frigates, destroyers and corvettes, to be built in Indian dockyards. The new model would also replace older sets progressively.

Raju congratulated the scientists of the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), a Defence Research and Development Organisation institution located in Kochi, for developing and transferring the technology in the stipulated time.

''For India to be the dominant power in the area, it is important for us to equip the Navy with blue water capability,'' Raju said. The minister noted that two of the NPOL's towed array systems were close to user evaluation.

The Navy had also evinced interest in Low Frequency Dunking Sonar, being developed at NPOL, by funding the installation on the Advanced Light Helicopter.

Chief Controller, R&D, DRDO, Sivathanu Pillai said the sonar technology developed at NPOL was comparable to the best in the world and was ready for export to other countries. The tsunami warning system and the 'Sanjeevani' life detecting device were some of the other NPOL technologies with multi-faceted applications, he said.