GRSE launches fully developed AUV, plans UAV and USV by year-end

Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd, famed for its expertise in warship construction, debuted an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) on Friday.This is GRSE's initial step toward developing autonomous cars. The Navy has revealed plans to create a ship-based Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and an Unmanned Surface Vessel (ASV) before the end of the year.

  

 

Samir V Kamat, Secretary,Directorate of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D) and Chairman,Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), unveiled the AUV.

 

The AUV was developed by GRSE in partnership with M/s AEPL and an industrial partner. It is meant to function completely autonomously and may carry a range of payloads depending on its mission.

 

The AUV is 2.15 meters long and has a battery life of over 14 hours. It will be capable of diving to depths of up to 300 meters and will be outfitted with a side scan sonar, a forward-looking sonar, and an acoustic modem.

 

These AUVs will be crucial in mine countermeasure operations, as well as good reusable targets for battleship ASW exercise. They may also be used for passive acoustic monitoring, where they will remain in place for hours, detecting any movement of subsurface platforms.

 

The construction of this AUV is also a significant step toward indigenization in accordance with the nation's Atmanirbharta strategy, according to Cmde P R Hari IN(Retd), chairman and managing director of GRSE.

 

In collaboration with TUNGA Aerospace Industries Pvt Ltd, GRSE is also developing a ship-based autonomous drone or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. This UAV will be able to operate autonomously day and night and recover autonomously on deck without the need for human interaction. After extensive testing, full-scale sea trials are scheduled by the end of 2023.

 

At the same time, GRSE is working on an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) called Swadheen. This 5-metre-long vessel is particularly developed to fulfill the Indian Navy's specialized requirements. This USV was created in conjunction with a startup and is currently furnished with a full bathymetry survey package to enable autonomous surveys.

 

By the end of October this year, Swadheen will have been thoroughly tested and will be ready for deployment as an autonomous survey boat. The Government of West Bengal may also get GRSE's in-house developed zero-emission vessel, which will operate as a ferry on the Hooghly, before the end of this year.

 

"Today, GRSE has joined a select group of companies involved in the development of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs)." Diversifying into the field of autonomous vehicles - aerial, surface, and sub-surface - has always been a goal of GRSE. Autonomous systems and Green Energy are two sectors that have the potential to disrupt the marine industry (including the Navy) in the near future.

 

"At GRSE, we have been able to combine the intrinsic knowledge gained through years of designing and building complex platforms with the transformative potential of Startups in order to work on these critical technologies," Cmde Hari stated.