Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) has upgraded its Advanced Torpedo Decoy System (ATDS) Maareech manufacturing facility with an eye on ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

On Monday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the facility through video conference.

Gowtama MV, Chairman and Managing Director, BEL, gave a presentation to the Defence Minister on ATDS Maareech. BEL’s initiative is in sync with the the Prime Minister’s vision of an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

The company has constructed a new building for ATDS manufacturing at a cost of around ₹12 crore. The indigenously developed Maareech System will also help save the country around $4 million in foreign exchange per system.

ATDS Maareech is a fully indigenous system involving sensors and decoys developed jointly by DRDO labs, Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) and Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), and manufactured by BEL.

Two production grade systems manufactured by BEL have been installed and trial evaluated on-board INS Gomati and INS Ganga. The Indian Navy had awarded BEL a contract for the Maareech systems.

Prior to the induction of ATDS Maareech, the Navy had imported the system for 12 platforms. But now BEL has upgraded its existing facilities to manufacture and deliver 12 ATDS Maareech systems every year.

This facility enables BEL to provide a reliable defence mechanism for Surface Ships of the Indian Navy against possible torpedo attacks. The upgraded ATDS facilities include Test Bays for electronic cabinets, Expendable Decoy Manufacturing and Towed Array Integration and Testing facility (Ramp Structure, Oil Filling facility, Load Test facility and Neutral Buoyancy Tank facility).

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