KOCHI:Adding another feather to its cap, Kochi-based Naval Physical Oceanic Laboratory (NPOL) handed over two advanced SONARs, an underwater sound propagation system, to the Indian Navy at a function held in New Delhi on Friday.
USHUS-2, a second generation SONAR for submarines, and Directing Gear, a ship-borne electro-mechanical system, were received by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba from Defence Minister Arun Jaitley in the presence of Union Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre and DRDO chairman S Christopher. NPOL director S Kedarnath Shenoy briefed the gathering about the importance of the SONAR technology.
USHUS-2, an integrated submarine sonar suite, is a state-of-the-art upgrade of the the older version currently operational onboard frontline submarines of the Navy. SONARs (Sound Navigation and Ranging) are the eyes and ears of submarines. Besides assisting sage navigation, SONARs detect, localise and attack enemy warships and submarines. USHUS-2 is a suite of multiple sensors for passive and active detection. At the function, the awards instituted for DRDO scientists and staff for outstanding performance were distributed.
NPOL senior scientist R Ramesh and Durga Prasad of NMRL, Ambernath shared the Best Innovation/Futuristic Development Award for 2015. The award was presented in recognition of their contributions to the indigenous development of 1-3 piezo-composite transducer technology.