The MoD is learnt to have issued an expression of interest with the objective of inviting the Indian industry to design and develop an “underwater launched unmanned aerial vehicle”

NEW DELHI: In order to bolster the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), the South China Sea and the Indo-Pacific, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has begun a preliminary process that will ultimately develop into acquiring autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) or underwater drones with twin surveillance and strike capabilities.

Earlier this month, the MoD is learnt to have issued an expression of interest (EoI) with the objective of inviting the Indian industry to design and develop an “underwater launched unmanned aerial vehicle” at a time when the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is also working to “enhance submarine situational awareness” and real-time visuals – photographs and videos.

Government sources said that the Navy is open to both indigenous and foreign-origin AUVs even as senior officials are aware that “it will take a long time” for Indian-made underwater drones to be available for military purposes. The UAV industry in India, nascent now, has already begun taking the first steps to fulfil the Navy’s objectives.

Recently, Larsen & Toubro signed a memorandum of understanding with Bengaluru-based New Space Research & Technologies to develop and build “underwater launched UAVs” under the DRDO’s Technology Development Fund initiative. The L&T-New Space Research & Technologies underwater drone, which will take at least “a couple of years” to be built, will be “purely for surveillance purposes to begin with”, according to industry sources.

Foreign-made underwater drones will likely be used till indigenous capabilities are developed. However, the larger aim is to launch these AUVs from submarines initially for surveillance. Subsequently, these AUVs will be used for military strikes, if needed.

The need for underwater drones arose when the Navy found to its consternation three years ago that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) “was routinely using AUVs right within Indian territorial waters” and in the wider IOR. Sources said that one Chinese underwater drone was detected by the crew of an American warship in the South China Sea when it malfunctioned and was “physically lifted to the surface” and its technological capabilities and surveillance records were studied.

On December 11, 2019, “upgraded Haiyi (Sea Wing) underwater gliders” were deployed from a Chinese government scientific research vessel. They are said to have conducted “underwater survey in the East Indian Ocean”.

“The Indian Navy is fully aware that the Chinese PLAN regularly operates underwater drones for surveillance of our naval assets,” said Vice-Admiral (Retd) Suresh Bangara who specialised in anti-submarine warfare.

“Using underwater would be a first for the Navy even though some have been used in the past to detect practice torpedoes and for tracking missiles without warheads. Oil companies such as ONGC and Reliance have been using AUVs to keep track of underwater pipelines and for their repair,” Bangara said.

India’s lone submarine rescue vessel – Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel – is equipped with a drone which is used for underwater searches and for “recording ambient noises” on ocean beds.