Strategically important Air Independent Propulsion tech for Navy submarines achieves milestone

Description

Context: The strategically important Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) crucial for diesel electric submarines, being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), achieved a key milestone by undergoing further land-based tests in tune with requirements of the Indian Navy. The Ministry said the technology has reached ‘maturity’ to be fitted on submarines.

Details:

The system is being developed by DRDO’s Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL), located at Ambernath in Thane district of Maharashtra.
Indian Navy has both conventional and nuclear submarines in its arsenal. The fleet of conventional submarines use diesel-electric engines, which require them to surface almost daily to get atmospheric oxygen for fuel combustion.
With the Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system on board, these submarines will be required to surface much less frequently, thus increasing their lethality and stealth multifold.
While nuclear-powered submarines are considered as key assets for deep sea operations, the conventional diesel electric ones are vital for coastal defence and operations close to the shore.
The project aims at fitting the technology on India’s Scorpene class submarine INS Kalvari around 2023.
The technology has been successfully developed with the support of industry partners L&T and Thermax.