Indian Navy gets Varunastra torpedo
The Indian Navy has taken delivery of Varunastra, a ship-launched heavy-weight torpedo, the Indian Ministry of Defence announced on 29 June.
Varunastra has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO’s) NSTL laboratory based at Visakhapatnam in association with Bharat Dynamics. The torpedo has been built with 95% indigenous content.
Varunastra can be fired from the Indian Navy’s Delhi-class ships and Rajput-class destroyers. It will also be carried by future anti-submarine warfare vessels capable of firing heavy-weight torpedoes.
The torpedo is designed to target stealthy submarines in littoral and deep waters in intense countermeasure environments.
The navy has ordered 73 of the torpedoes. The DRDO is also developing a submarine-launched heavy-weight torpedo, which is currently in an advanced user trial stage.
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