India's GRSE launches fully developed Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, plans UAV and USV by year-end

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Kolkata, Jul 28 (IANS): Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd, known for its prowess in the field of warship building, launched an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) on Friday.

This is GRSE's first move towards the development of autonomous vehicles. Plans to develop a ship-based Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and an Unmanned Surface Vessel (ASV) by the Navy by the end of the year were also announced.

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The AUV was launched by Samir V Kamat, Secretary, Directorate of Defence Research & Development (DDR&D) and Chairman, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

The AUV is a man-portable one that GRSE developed in collaboration with M/s AEPL and an industry partner. It has been designed to operate in a totally autonomous manner and will be able to carry a variety of payloads depending on its role. This could be mine detection, Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) training, underwater inspection, search and rescue missions or scientific exploration.

The AUV is 2.15 m long and will have an endurance of nearly 14 hours. It will be able to operate at depths of up to 300 metres and will be equipped with a side scan sonar, a forward-looking sonar and an acoustic modem.

These AUVs will play an important role in mine countermeasure operations and also make excellent reusable targets during ASW practice by warships. They can also be deployed for passive acoustic monitoring during which they will remain in position for hours, monitoring the possible movement of sub-surface platforms.

The development of this AUV is also a major step towards indigenization in keeping with the nation’s Atmanirbharta policy, Cmde P R Hari IN(Retd), chairman and managing director, GRSE, said.

GRSE is also developing a ship-based autonomous drone or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle in partnership with TUNGA Aerospace Industries Pvt Ltd. This UAV will be capable of day-and-night autonomous operations and autonomous recovery on deck without any manual intervention. Full-scale sea trials are planned after intensive testing by the end of 2023.

At the same time, GRSE is developing an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) that will be named Swadheen. This 5-metre-long craft is specifically designed to meet the unique needs of the Indian Navy. This USV has been developed in collaboration with a Startup and is now being outfitted with a complete bathymetry survey suite to facilitate autonomous surveys. Swadheen will be fully tested and ready to be deployed as an autonomous survey boat by the end of October this year. GRSE’s in-house designed zero-emission vessel that will operate as a ferry on the Hooghly may also be delivered to the Government of West Bengal by the end of this year.

"Today, GRSE has entered a select club of companies engaged in the construction of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). At GRSE, it has always been a part of our plans to diversify into the world of unmanned vehicles - aerial, surface and sub-surface. Autonomous systems and Green Energy are fields that have the potential to bring about disruptive changes in the maritime sector (including the Navy) in the near future. At GRSE, we have been able to combine the intrinsic knowledge imbibed over years of designing and building complex platforms and the transformative potential of Startups, to work on these critical technologies," Cmde Hari added.

Kamat appreciated GRSE’s efforts and highlighted the role being played by Startups today in developing technology for defence purposes.

GRSE launches fully developed AUV, plans UAV and USV by year-end

Kolkata, Jul 28 (IANS): Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd, known for its prowess in the field of warship building, launched an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) on Friday. This is GRSE's first move towards the development of autonomous vehicles. Plans to develop a ship-based...

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Mine detector AUV launched

An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) designed to detect mines and a first of its kind in the country was launched here on Friday. The AUV named 'Neerakshi' is a collaboration of Kolkata-based warshipmaker Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd and MSME entity AEPL, officials said.

The commercial launch of the AUV is likely to be within six months to a year after completion of user trials by the Indian Navy, Coast Guard and possibly the Army too, he said GRSE chairman and managing director Commodore (Retd) P R Hari said at the launch of the AUV.

"This can be used for a variety of functions ranging from mine detection to mine disposal to underwater survey," he said

The GRSE CMD said that the initial response has been overwhelming and expressed confidence that this venture will result in multiple projects which will augur well not only for the shipbuilder but also for the country.

"Neerakshi is petite and demure, but don't be mistaken. She is potent and versatile with multirole capabilities," he said.

Launching the 2.1-metre long cylindrical unmanned vehicle about a foot in diameter and weighing around 45 kg, secretary of defence R and D department and DRDO chairman, Samir V Kamat expressed confidence that in the coming years the country's defence industry will not only meet the aspirations of the nation, but also become a developer of cutting edge systems, innovative solutions and generate a lot of exports.

"It feels very heartening to see a collaboration between a large shipyard and an MSME which has resulted in this innovative product being indigenously designed and developed in the country," Kamat said, launching the orange-coloured prototype of the AUV.

Kamat said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a goal for not only being self-reliant, but also a leading exporter of defence systems and technologies. "This can happen only if we have such partnerships ... I am sure this will be a forerunner for many such partnerships," he said.

GRSE has expressed its wish to make autonomous sea surface vehicles, a sea-based drone and look at green propulsion for ships as well as other platforms.

Hari said that at this stage the AUV is capable of mine detection, but the future plan is to ensure that this can be made capable of mine disposal also.

"Once the user trials are completed and the user requirements are embedded into the vessel we will go for the commercial production of the AUV," he said.

The platform launched on Friday is a prototype. It has an endurance of four hours and can go up to 300 metres deep, he said.

The process is on to enhance the AUV's endurance from 200 to 300 per cent and these can then be deployed across the coastal waters for ensuring safety of the coast. This platform is for deployment from either a mother ship or at the coast for coastal protection.

The GRSE chairman said that the collaboration of the leading shipbuilder with Aerospace Engineering Private Ltd (AEPL) is testimony to the successful marriage between vast and inherent expertise of a major warship builder and the innovative and transformative potentials of MSMEs having dedicated innovation division like AEPL.

Hari said that considering the present environment and realising the importance of technology in defence equipment, GRSE management took a decision to focus on areas like green energy platforms and autonomous platforms.

The GRSE wants to foray into all the three domains of autonomous platforms - sub-surface, surface and aerial, he said.

An unmanned surface vessel is in the final stages of project completion and is targeted to be launched by the end of this year, he said.

"New and critical technology is the future. Realising this and to tap the capability of the Indian startup ecosystem we launched a national open startup challenge - GAINS," he said.

Mine detector AUV launched

The platform launched on Friday is a prototype. It has an endurance of four hours and can go up to 300 metres deep, he said. The process is on to enhance the AUV's endurance from 200 to 300 per cent and these can then be deployed across the coastal waters for ensuring safety of the coast. This...

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