RAKSHA MANTRI DEDICATES “HYDRODYNAMIC TEST FACILITY” TO THE NATION AND HANDS OVER “MAAREECH – ADVANCED TORPEDO DEFENCE SYSTEM” TO INDIAN NAVY

Raksha Mantri, ManoharParrikar dedicated to the nation the “Sea-keeping and Maneuvering Basin (SMB)” during a function held at Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam, on Saturday 14 Nov 2015. Admiral RK Dhowan, Chief of the Naval Staff, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D; and Director General of DRDO, Dr. S. Christopher were also present. The Minister also handed over the “Maareech - Advanced Torpedo Defence System” developed by DRDO to the Indian Navy.

Set up as a joint effort of DRDO and Indian Navy, SMB facility is one of its kind in the country. 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.

Maareech, a joint project of Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi and NSTL, Visakhapatnam 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. Two production grade MAAREECH systems have been developed and user evaluation trials completed onboard two Indian Navy ships.

Complementing the vital role of DRDO towards self reliance and promoting the ‘Make in India’ efforts, the Raksha Mantri said the development of complex system - Maareech is an  excellent model of synergy  between DRDO, Indian Navy, public and private industries, demonstrating  yet another milestone in ‘Make in India’ program.

Later the Raksha Mantri gave away the prestigious DRDO National awards to DRDO Scientists across the country for their significant contributions and achievements made towards development of various weapons systems and technologies.

The landmark function was attended by  MP Dr K. Hari Babu and MLA P. Vishnu Kumar Raju  along with the  large number of   officers of the DRDO and Armed Forces, members of the academia, civil administration and other invitees.