Cochin Shipyard to build secret vessel for DRDO

A top secret vessel, which will bestow(present) the country’s defence research establishment with a rare capability to track the full flight of future long-range naval missile systems, is in the making in Kochi.

The public sector Cochin Shipyard, which is in the final stages of constructing India’s first indigenous(native) aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, is learnt to have been contracted by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to build a ‘technology demonstration vessel’ for the purpose in the next three years.

While both the DRDO and the yard remained tight-lipped(with the lips firmly closed, especially as a sign of suppressed emotion) about the project, it is understood that the contract, believed to be worth Rs.365 crore, was signed between the yard and the end-user in early August this year.

Once ready, the 130-metre-long vessel built to commercial standards specifications, will be fitted with ‘user-supplied equipment’.

Sources in the DRDO suggested that the ship would have an array of sensors and radars to track flight of long-range missiles during test-firing.

“The DRDO and the Navy are in the forefront of indigenisation(making something more native) of maritime systems and several new naval missiles of varying range are being developed at the moment. Equipped with sensors, the ship will be deployed at sea to track the full flight path of longer range missiles that are under development,” said a top official.

Just as the DRDO is jointly developing the long-range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM), also called Barak 8, with the Israel Aerospace Industries, naval weapons development in India is set for a huge leap with the ‘K’ series of submarine-launched missiles such as K-15 and K-4.

To be fitted on board the Arihant-class of submarines, the K-15, a.k.a B-05, missile is said to have a range of over 720 km while the bigger K-4s will have an operational range of 3,500 km. Missiles with longer ranges are also being talked about, pointed out a source.

The original contract for construction of the vessel was signed with Bharati Shipyard, but time overruns forced by the yard’s poor finances led to termination of the contract with the penalty clause.

Subsequently, the Cochin Shipyard won the bid to execute the prestigious project.

The contract, believed to be worth Rs.365 crore, was signed between the yard and the end-user in

August this year.

Data that may be helpful:

Meanings:-

• bestow :- present
• indigenous :- native
• tight-lipped :- with the lips firmly closed, especially as a sign of suppressed emotion
• indigenisation :- making something more native

Important Point :-

• SAM :- A surface-to-air missile (SAM), or ground-to-air missile (GTAM), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of antiaircraft system; in modern armed forces, missiles have replaced most other forms of dedicated antiaircraft weapons, with anti-aircraft guns pushed into specialized roles.
• Barak 8 :-  Barak 8 (the Hebrew word for Lightning) is an India-Israeli surface-to-air missile (SAM), designed to defend against any type of airborne threat including aircraft, helicopters, anti-ship missiles, and UAVs as well as cruise missiles and combat jets. Both maritime and land-based versions of the system exist.
•  Arihant-class Submarine :- Arihant class (Sanskrit, for Killer of Enemies) is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines being built for the Indian Navy. The lead vessel of the class, INS Arihant, was first launched in 2009 and began sea trials in December 2014.

 Source : The Hindu, 21-Nov-2015