Team News Riveting
New Delhi, October 22
The Ministry of Defence has signed a contract on 21 October 2021 with the US Government under Foreign Military Sale (FMS) for procurement of MK 54 Torpedo and Expendable (Chaff and Flares) for the Indian Navy at a cost of Rs 423 Crores.
These weapons are the outfit of P-8I Aircraft which is used for Long range Maritime Surveillance, Anti-Submarine Warfare and Anti-Surface Warfare (ASV).
The MK 54 lightweight torpedo is the primary anti-submarine warfare weapon used by US Navy surface ships, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Designed to operate in shallow waters and in the presence of countermeasures, it can track, classify and attack underwater targets.
Expendable (Chaff and Flares) is a passive countermeasure system against incoming anti-aircraft missiles forms an important and effective part in an aircraft’s arsenal.
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has taken up the task of indigenous development of chaff cartridges to bridge the technology gap in this field and evolve an import substitute for Defence. This becomes a critical requirement since Chaff is one of the most widely used expendable electronic countermeasure devices.
