DRDO’s ‘SPACE’ goes operational in Kerala

KERALA: A state-of-the-art Submersible Platform for Acoustic Characterization and Evaluation (SPACE) was inaugurated at Idukki in Kerala on Wednesday. Dr Samir V Kamat, secretary of the Department of Defense—Research and Development (R&D) and chairman of DRDO, inaugurated the platform at the Underwater Acoustic Research Facility in Kulamavu, Idukki, according to a release by the Defence Ministry.
The SPACE, set up by the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory of DRDO, has been designed as a premier testing and evaluation hub for sonar systems destined for the Indian Navy onboard various platforms, including ships, submarines, and helicopters.
The SPACE marks a milestone in naval technology advancement. It will consist of two distinct assemblages: a platform that floats on the water surface and a submersible platform that can be lowered to any depth up to 100 m using winch systems. Upon completion of operations, the submersible platform can be winched up and docked with the floating platform.
The SPACE will mainly be utilised for the evaluation of complete sonar systems, allowing for quick deployment and easy recovery of scientific packages such as sensors and transducers. It will be suitable for survey, sampling, and data collection of air, surface, mid-water, and reservoir floor parameters using modern scientific instrumentation. It will cater to the needs of data processing and sample analyses in modern, well equipped scientific laboratories, heralding a new era of anti-submarine warfare research capabilities, added the release.