The Indian Navy plans to buy air-drop underwater bombs for use as attack weapons against submarines in a move to strengthen its anti-submarine warfare capability.
The Defence Ministry has issued a request to original equipment manufacturers and vendors for information on such bombs, which could be used by the navy’s fixed-wing aircraft.
According to the terms of the agrrement, the winning contractor will reinvest 30% of the deal amount back in Indian industries by either buying or manufacturing defence equipment, according to the Economic Times.
“The bomb should be capable of being dropped from an aircraft for engaging a submarine in deep waters up to 1,000m as well as those on surface and periscope depths,” a navy officer said.
“We also are looking for bombs that could be launched from rotary-wing [helicopter] platforms, with a shelf-life of 30 years.”
A practice version will be required to validate and train the air crew in bomb drop procedures.
The navy’s aviation wing currently operates Sea Harrier and MiG-29K fighters, Tupolev Tu-142 bomber, Dornier and IL-38 patrol aircraft, and Kamov, Sea King, Dhruv ALH, Cheetah and Chetak helicopters.
