Kochi: In a boost to ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and India’s ‘Make in India’ commitment in the defence sector, Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) launched Hull Module of Submersible Platform for Acoustic Characterization and Evaluation (SPACE) facility at Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) here recently. It is a state-of-the-art testing and evaluation facility for sonar systems developed for use by the Indian navy onboard various platforms, including ships, submarines and helicopters.

The SPACE facility is based on the concept design and requirements projected by NPOL and has been constructed by L&T Shipbuilding, Chennai. This will be mainly utilized for evaluating Sonar systems, allowing for quick deployment and easy recovery of scientific packages such as sensors and transducers.

The SPACE is one-of-a-kind facility in the world. The uniqueness of this facility lies in the specially designed submersible platform, which can be lowered up to depths of 100 meters using a series of synchronously operated winches. The design and construction of the platform meet all the statutory needs of Indian Register of Shipping and the vessel classifying authority and strictly adhere to the inspection and registration criteria as per Kerala Inland Vessel Rules.