DRDO develops new generation Man-Portable Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

• A new generation of Man-Portable Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (MP-AUVs) have been successfully developed by the Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for mine countermeasure missions.

• The system comprises multiple AUVs equipped with side scan sonar and underwater cameras as primary payloads for real-time detection and classification of mine-like objects.

• The recently-concluded field trials at NSTL harbour have successfully validated salient systems parameters and critical mission objectives. 

• The onboard deep learning based target recognition algorithms enable autonomous classification, significantly reducing operator workload and mission time.

• Additionally, a robust underwater acoustic communication has been integrated to facilitate inter-AUV data exchange during operations, ensuring enhanced situational awareness.

• Multiple industry partners are involved in system realisation and the system will be ready for production in the next couple of months.

• MP-AUVs offer rapid response capability with reduced operational risk and logistic footprint for naval mine warfare applications.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)