Upgraded facility at BEL inaugurated by Defence Minister

This facility enables BEL to provide a reliable defence mechanism for surface ships of the Indian Navy against possible torpedo attacks, the statement said. The upgraded ATDS facilities include test bays for electronic cabinets, expendable decoy manufacturing and towed array integration and testing facility, it said.

The upgraded state-of-the-art Maareech Integration Facility at the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) was inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday. It was BEL which produced the Maareech advanced torpedo defence system (ATDS), fully indigenous system involving sensors and decoys, a statement from the company said here.

The ATDS was developed jointly by DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) labs, Naval Physical & Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) and Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), the statement said. Two production grade systems manufactured by BEL have been installed and trial evaluated on-board INS Gomati and INS Ganga. The Indian Navy has awarded BEL a contract for Maareech systems, it said.

Prior to the induction of Maareech ATDS, the Navy had imported the system for 12 platforms. But now with the indigenous development of this system, BEL has upgraded its existing facilities with capacity to manufacture and deliver 12 ATDS Maareech systems every year. This facility enables BEL to provide a reliable defence mechanism for surface ships of the Indian Navy against possible torpedo attacks, the statement said.

The upgraded ATDS facilities include test bays for electronic cabinets, expendable decoy manufacturing and towed array integration and testing facility, it said. BEL has constructed a new building for ATDS manufacturing at a cost of around Rs 12 crore.

The indigenously developed Maareech System is a big step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat, as it saves the country around USD 4 million in foreign exchange per system, the statement said. The upgraded facility of BEL was inaugurated through a video-link.