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The defence ministry today ordered the building of midget submarines,
also called “manned torpedoes”, a super-special project to deliver and
recover commandos in twos and threes.
Going by the innocuous abbreviation SOB/SDV, which expands to “special
operations boats/swimmer delivery vehicle”, the two midget submarines
ordered to be built in an Indian shipyard have been approved for an
initial cost of Rs 2,000 crore.
The navy projected a need for midget submarines, which weigh less than
150 tonnes, after the 26/11 attacks.
In a typical operation involving midgets, the commandos in it “swim out”
of either a larger vessel (a ship or a larger submarine) or a berth at a
coast, go underwater to the intended target, attach mines and return to
base without giving up their location. Midget submarines are capable
only of short-range operations.
The navy’s marine commandos (MARCOS) will be expected to be given the
midgets, which are also called “Chariots”.
The decision to order the midgets marks the revival of a nearly
45-year-old project. A few were also acquired and based in Mumbai in
1975, a few years after Pakistan’s navy too acquired midgets from an
Italian firm.
Source : ‘Midgets’ on navy mind | idrw.org