Manohar Parrikar flags off India’s first indigenous Sonar Dome

Union Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has flagged offIndia’s first indigenous composites sonar dome, a ship’s underwater eyes and ears.

• The first indigenous composites bow mounted sonar dome was dedicated to the nation during Def Expo 2016 in Goa. The sonar dome will be supplied to Mazgaon Docks, Mumbai for use in the warships of Indian Navy.
• The sonar dome has been designed by Research & Development Establishment (Engineers), a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory based in Pune and manufactured by composites manufacturing company Kineco Ltd, Pilerne, Goa.
• Realising large composites structure with multi-functional requirements, complex geometry and high structural rigidity with acoustic transparency was possible due to the Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Moulding(VARTM) process technology with built-in process monitoring capability.
• The sonar dome will now pave the way for realising more ambitious naval structures such as entire ship hulls as well as land based and aerospace applications.

Sonar domes:

• Sonar domes, which are placed on the hulls of submarines and surface ships, are a key component that house electronic equipment used for detection, navigation, and ranging.
• They are particularly useful in anti-submarine warfare.
• Sonar domes cover the Sonar arrays and protect the electronics and sensors. The sonar dome has to be structurally sound as well as acoustically transparent.

Manohar Parrikar:

• Parrikar is the currentDefence Minister of India from the BharatiyaJanata Party.
• He is the first IIT graduate to serve as Chief Minister of an Indian state.
• He is a member of the RajyaSabha from Uttar Pradesh.