The Mazagaon Dock Limited (MDL) unveiled a midget submarine on the 250th foundation day on May 14th. The midget submarine, named Arowana – a fish known for its beauty and aggressiveness – will be used like U.S. Navy’s Seal Delivery Vehicles. These midget submarines will deploy Marine Commandos (MARCOs) behind enemy lines on the enemy’s shores, or on vessels or platforms at sea without being detected.
The vessel, which will be deployed from a mother ship, most likely a bigger submarine, is intended to be used in shallow waters and will help in stealthily infiltrating enemy ports where commandos can secretly plant limpet mines on enemy’s ships.
The Arowana, or Project MS-X02A as it is known, is expected to be a stealth-based platform with minimal electromagnetic and acoustic signature. The platform is expected to integrate Sound Navigation And Ranging (SONAR), Global Positioning System (GPS), Inertial Navigation System (INS) and digital communication systems to make it the leading platform in its class.
The making of the vessel proves that India is now taking giant leaps in the field of under-surface sea platforms. Speaking at the event, Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane said, “India cannot depend on others for constant supply of anything. There is a need to develop indigenous capacity to produce latest technologies through innovation. To defend our borders, we need to master top-class technologies.”
Private firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is also making a midget submarine called SOV-400. The L&T vessel with a submerged displacement of 550 tons is much more than the current benchmark for a midget submarine. L&T’s midget is slated to carry two 533mm heavyweight torpedoes giving it considerable undersea punch. The engineering giant says that it can make a submarine in the future based on the SOV-400. MDL too is working to design a conventional powered (diesel-electric) submarines by 2028.
Dhruv Yadav
