Navy inducts Indigenous Heavyweight Torpedo 'Varunastra'

Indigenously developed heavyweight torpedo Varunastra was inducted in the Indian Navy on 29 June 2016. It was handed to the Indian Navy by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.

With this India joined a select group of eight countries having the capability to design and develop heavyweight torpedoes.

Key features

• The torpedo was designed and developed by Naval Science and Technological Laboratory of the DRDO for the Indian Navy. It carries 95 percent of indigenous content.

• It weighs around 1.25 tonnes and is capable of carrying about 250 kg of explosives at a speed of around 40 nautical miles an hour.

• Varunastra, a versatile naval weapon can be fired from the Rajput class destroyers, Delhi class and all future Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) ships capable of firing heavy weight torpedoes.

• It is capable of targeting quiet and stealthy submarines both in deep and littoral waters even in intense countermeasure atmosphere.

Torpedo

• Torpedo is a self-propelled weapon with an explosive warhead.

• It can be launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target.

• It is designed to detonate either on contact with its target or in proximity to it.

• The term torpedo was originally employed for a variety of devices, most of which would today be called mines.

• From about 1900, torpedo has been used strictly to designate an underwater self-propelled weapon.

• The original torpedo is a kind of fish: an electric ray.

Earlier, Torpedo Varunastra was showcased for the first time on the 2016 Republic Day Parade at Rajpath.

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