KOCHI:
Defence Acquisition Council held under the chairmanship of Raksha Mantri Nirmala Sitaraman on 13 February, 2018 formally cleared acquisition plan for indigenously designed `Maareech’ Advanced Torpedo Decoy System.
Maareech Torpedo defense system comprising sonars and decoys has been developed by defense laboratories of DRDO for Anti submarine warfare (ASW) operations. Multiple systems comprising ASW and non ASW variants shall be manufactured by Bharat Electronics, Bengaluru for a total order value of Rs. 850 Crores.
The survival capability of a ship is greater if the torpedo can be detected early and also at a range equal to or more than the escape range of the platform. A fully integrated Maareech system has both torpedo detection and countermeasure capability. Also, the system offers tactical advantage by classification of the torpedo along with localization and target motion parameters. The escape solutions are then evolved which will advice the crew of the ship on the most appropriate maneuver and countermeasure actions necessary to defeat the threat.
Maareech Torpedo Defense system is jointly developed by Naval Physical & Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi and NSTL, Visakhapatnam. Maareech system is a total package comprising sonars for detection and decoy countermeasures to protect Indian Naval Ships.
Two production grade systems are currently operational onboard Indian Naval ships. Maareech Torpedo Defense Sonar (TDS) team was led by Project Director, Dr. K. Ajith Kumar, Scientist G at NPOL, Kochi. Torpedo Defence system is a key component of Indian Navy in their operations and shall help Indian Naval ships to protect themselves from a torpedo attack.
Maareech ATDS, an indigenous sonar system was developed by NPOL with the active support of Indian Navy through a consortium of Indian Industries. The project clearly demonstrates the indigenous capability to realize complex systems in time.
The project is also a successful example of `Make in India’ initiative of the Government of India. “Induction of Maareech Torpedo Defense System by Indian Navy heralds a major milestone for Naval Research & Development and specifically NPOL, since indigenously designed towed array sonar systems shall be inducted for the first time” says Kedarnath Shenoi, Outstanding Scientist and Director, NPOL. With this, NPOL has successfully developed multiple configurations of sonars like Hull mounted sonars for ships, submarine sonar systems, towed array sonars and airborne dunking sonar systems for Indian Navy.
