From Mine Detection To Anti-Submarine Warfare, GRSE's New Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Broadens Navy's Capabilities

In a significant milestone in India's underwater surveillance capabilities, state-owned shipyard Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) today (28 July) launched an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV).

This AUV is manufactured by GRSE in collaboration with a medium, small and micro enterprise — Aerospace Engineers Private Limited (AEPL).

The underwater vehicle was launched by Defence Research and Development Organisation Chairman Dr Samir V Kamat.

According to the AEPL and GRSE, this AUV is capable of operating underwater autonomously, for a long period of time.

The autonomous underwater vehicle is equipped with a side-scan array radar, allowing the vehicle to map the underwater ocean surface and making it capable of underwater exploration.

GRSE will also launch an autonomous surface vessels for surface missions by the end of this year.

This launch of AUV comes after the reported usage of British REMUS underwater vehicles to bomb the Russian Kerch bridge joining Crimea to Russian mainland.

Similar to AEPL's AUV, the REMUS underwater vehicles are capable of carrying various payloads.

REMUS AUVs are used by civilian operators to map the ocean floor, to do underwater surveying and by the militaries, for mine detection and mine counter-measure missions.

These AUVs are credited with the discovery of underwater mines during operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, and in 2011, with the discovery of the missing black-boxes of the Air France flight AF447.