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Mumbai: State-owned power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has entered into a partnership with Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited (Midhani) and Hindustan Shipyards Limited (HSL) to bid for the P-75 I submarine project of the Indian Navy.

 "The consortium will jointly stake claim with the ministry of defence for being considered as a prospective bidder for the proposed P-75 I project of the Indian Navy for building six submarines at an Indian shipyard," BHEL said in a statement.

 Project-75 India (P-75 I) aims at building six submarines for the Indian Navy to plug gaps in the submarine fleet. The estimated cost of the project is $11.10 billion.

 The MoU for the upcoming venture was signed between BHEL, Midhani and HSL Dec 26.

 "BHEL has a large infrastructure, including dedicated engineering, research and development and manufacturing facilities at several locations to manufacture various types of equipment and provide complete services to meet the requirements of the Indian defence sector," the Maharatna company said.

India is looking to export indigenously developed hull-mounted sonars and negotiations are at an advanced stage with the navies of three to four friendly nations.

SONAR (an acronym for Sound Navigation and Ranging) is used to detect underwater targets. Like radar, used to detect long-range aerial and other targets, sonars have applications in underwater surveillance, communication and marine navigation.

Three units of these sonars have been exported to Myanmar. Officials from Bharat Electronics Limited and the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory visited the neighbouring country and installed them a fortnight ago. BEL produced the sonars while the Kochi-based NPOL, a naval lab of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), designed and developed them. BEL had signed the Rs.150-crore contract for the three sonars with Myanmar in January 2013. Director-General of DRDO (Naval Systems and Materials) Bhujanga Rao told The Hindu that there was a demand from other nations too. Naval officials from three to four countries came to India and held discussions.  Mentioning different sonars developed for the Navy, he said that a versatile, new-generation system USHUS has been installed on India’s first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine, Arihant. It has a higher range and can withstand high static pressure of water. Observing that it was superior to Russian equivalents and comparable to the best in the world, he said that sonars on all Russian-class submarines being operated by the Indian Navy would be replaced with USHUS. 

Another advanced hull-mounted sonar HUMSA-NG (new generation) was also developed and the Navy had placed orders for its installation on different platforms such as destroyers, frigates and corvettes, Dr. Rao said.

A sonar for detecting intruders like divers had been developed for installation at harbour entry points and to protect offshore installations. It will be ready for deployment in a year. Similarly, ship-towed array sonar technology that could detect targets up to 100 km was ready for user-evaluation trials. ABHAY, a compact sonar for fitting on warships of smaller size or shallow watercraft, was currently undergoing technical trials on board INS Ajay, Dr. Rao said.

Sagem (Groupe Safran) a signé un protocole d'accord avec la société indienne Bharat Electronics Limited pour explorer une collaboration dans le domaine de la production et de la fourniture d'équipements de navigation et d'optronique pour la marine indienne. Le projet a été paraphé lors du salon Defexpo India de New Delhi. Il court sur deux ans, reconductibles d'autant si nécessaire.

New Delhi:Bangalore based Bharat Electronics Limited  (BEL),a company owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with  Sagem Défense Sécurité, France, to explore co-operation in the production and supply of Navigational sensors like periscope, Inertial Navigational System and optronic mast to the Indian Navy for its various platforms under consideration for future induction.

The bid is for 12 systems and the RfP has been issued. We are also expecting a bid for 16 shallow watercraft.

German firm Atlas Elektronik has won the competition for ATAS (active towed array sonars), which will equip the indigenous Talwar-class ships of the Indian Navy and subsequently be manufactured in India under Bharat Electronics. In an interview to Huma Siddiqui, Atlas Elektronik's India head Khalil Rahman talks about the firm's plans for the country.

Edited excerpts:

What opportunities do you see for Atlas Elektronik in India?

We are bidding for major Indian naval programmes, including the new torpedo defence suite (NTDS), which is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) suit, consisting of a sonar, decoy and a fire control system. The bid is for 12 systems and the RfP has been issued. We are also expecting a bid for 16 shallow watercraft. The third bid is for the towed-array sonar for eight-kilo class submarines, which are undergoing upgrade.

Towed sonars are a cost-effective way to strengthen the underwater capabilities of the navy. ATAS will equip the Delhi and Talwar-class ships and will be subsequently manufactured in India under BEL. The first 6 systems will be imported and the next batches will be built in India under a transfer of technology arrangement.

Many multinational firms operating in India are forging JVs with Indian companies. Does this appeal to Atlas Elektronik?

We are talking actively with our Indian partners and are committed to the market; so a JV in some form is inevitable.

Is the company looking for any more programmes with the navy or the Coast Guard?

We are interested in all programmes where our technology has an application. The ASW (anti-submarine warfare) market is a big opportunity for Atlas in India. We are one of the few global players with a complete ASW solution.

The company owns the IP on everything from the tip of the torpedo to the casket. Our plan is to develop an indigenous solution, which enables us to compete in the Indian market.