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DRDO to Develop India's First Underwater UAV

15:17, 12 June 2024

Swapna Nair

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Designed for fast, safe and autonomous deployment from submarines, ULUAVs provide a tactical advantage with their long endurance and long range. They provide discreet surveillance, allowing submarines to covertly monitor potential threats without revealing their position.

Sputnik

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) plans to develop revolutionary underwater unmanned aerial vehicles (ULUAVs) in collaboration with a Pune-based defence startup to boost India's underwater military capabilities.

Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt Ltd, selected by the DRDO's Technology Development Fund (TDF) through a competitive bidding process from a pool of 17 contenders, will be the partner in the development.

Previously, Sagar Defence demonstrated its capabilities by developing a maritime reconnaissance drone for the Indian Navy.

The agreement was formalised in the presence of DRDL Director Dr Murthy and Indian Navy officials.

In addition, these vehicles will enable discreet surveillance missions, empowering submarines to covertly monitor potential threats without compromising their location.

"This ULUAV technology is going to be highly advanced. Only a few countries in the world possess ULUAVs but they are not highly advanced. Like the US ULUAV has a range of 7 km and its endurance is for 30 minutes. However, DRDO has entrusted us to develop a ULUAV that will have a longer endurance of more than one hour and will have a range of over 20 km. And we are the first to develop this technology in India. This ULUAV will be for maritime and underwater domain awareness and will be used for data gathering," said Mridul Babbar, Director & Vice-President of Business Development at Sagar Defence.

This initiative underscores the Indian government's proactive stance in promoting indigenous innovation and technological advancement.

"This contract not only underscores the trust and confidence that DRDO has in our capabilities but also serves as a testament to the strides we are making in defence innovation,” Sagar CEO Captain Nikunj Parashar remarked.

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles in underwater scenarios represents a significant advantage for the defence industry, particularly in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations. This advancement promises to increase situational awareness and operational effectiveness across the maritime domain.

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