On November 21, 2020, Secretary, Department of Defence Research & Development (R&D) and Chairman, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), G. Satheesh Reddy flagged off the first ‘Varunastra’, heavy weight torpedo to be delivered to the Indian Navy during a ceremony held at Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Visakhapatnam Unit, Andhra Pradesh.
Designed and Developed by:
The Varunastra has been designed and developed by Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam.
BDL, being the production agency, is manufacturing Varunastra at its Visakhapatnam unit for the Indian Navy.BDL had signed a contract worth Rs 1,187 crore to manufacture the weapon, which is considered to be around 95 per cent indigenous.
Participants:
Vice Admiral K. Srinivas, Project Director, Ship Building Centre, Samir V. Kamat, Director General, Naval Systems & Materials (NS&M), DRDO, O.R. Nandagopan, Director of Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) from DRDO were present during the flagging off ceremony.
Key Points:
i.‘Varunastra’ – is an Indian advanced heavyweight anti-submarine Torpedo and is capable of being launched from both Ships and Submarines.
ii.It is powered by an electric propulsion system with multiple 250 Kilowatts Silver Oxide Zinc (AgOZn) batteries.
iii.It is capable of achieving a speed of 40 Knots (74 Kms/hr), weighs around 1.25 tons and can carry upto 250 kg of conventional warhead.
iv.It is made of 95% Indigenous contents.
v.The heavyweight torpedo is also being offered for exports.
Foundation Stone:
Dr. Satheesh Reddy laid the foundation stone for the establishing an state-of-the-art Central Store at BDL, Visakhapatnam Unit.
Other associations of BDL:
BDL is also the manufacturing agency for Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile (QRSAM), Astra Air-to-Air Missile System and other missiles.
Recent Related News:
i.On June 26, 2020, Indian Navy inducted an Advanced Torpedo Decoy System (ATDS) namely ‘Maareech’ that is capable of being fired from all frontline warships.
About Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL):
BDL is the Lead Integrator for the Akash Weapon System of Indian army.
Chairman and Managing Director– Siddharth Mishra
Head Office– Hyderabad, Telangana
About Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL):
Director – Dr. OR Nandagopan
Head Quarter – Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
