USHUS is an integrated

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

system developed by the

Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory The Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory or NPOL is a laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), under the Ministry of Defence, India. It is situated in Thrikkakara, Kochi, Kerala. NPOL is responsible for the ...

(NPOL) of the

Defence Research and Development Organisation The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) (IAST: ''Raksā Anūsandhān Evam Vikās Sangaṭhan'') is the premier agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in Ministry of Defence of the Government of India ...

(DRDO),

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, for use in

submarines A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely o ...

of the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...

. It is primarily designed to be used in

Sindhughosh class submarine ''Sindhughosh''-class submarines are diesel-electric submarines in active service with the Indian Navy. Their names are in Sanskrit, but in their Roman-alphabet forms sometimes a final short ''-a'' is dropped. The ''Sindhughosh'' submarines, d ...

s, though it is reported to be fitted in the ''Arihant''-class

nuclear-powered Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

ballistic missile submarines A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. The United States Navy's hull classification symbols for ballistic missile submarines are SSB and SSBN – t ...

as well. USHUS is reported to be superior to its Russian equivalents.

Design and description

USHUS is used for detecting and tracking enemy submarines, surface vessels, and torpedoes and can be used for underwater communication and avoiding obstacles. The sonar can work in both active and passive mode, and is capable of interception and underwater communication. It can detect both surface ships and submarines at a range of a few kilometres. The team developing the sonar was awarded the ''Agni Award for self-reliance'' by the Indian Prime Minister in May 2007.

Production

The production of the sonar is done by

Bharat Electronics Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) is an Indian Government-owned aerospace and defence electronics company. It primarily manufactures advanced electronic products for ground and aerospace applications. BEL is one of nine PSUs under the Ministry ...

(BEL) at its

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

unit, after transfer of technology from NPOL. NPOL continues to provide technical consultancy and support. The Indian

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

signed a contract worth ₹167

crore A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...

with BEL for the delivery of the sonars for four Kilo-class submarines between 2003 and 2007. Initially one sonar system was installed and integrated in Russia and other system was installed on board an Indian submarine.

CAG report

A CAG audit report filed in December 2012 criticised the program for the delays, and mentioned that by then, only three submarines were upgraded with the sonar, and two of those had completed sea trials. The report also stated that due to delays in implementing the upgrade, a large portion of the sonar's technical life had expired. In 2005, two submarines were outfitted, of which one completed sea trial in January 2011. In 2008, the third submarine was upgraded and it completed the trial in December 2011.

Current status

Indian Nuclear Submarine Project starting with

INS Arihant INS ''Arihant'' (SSBN 80) (Sanskrit: ''Vanquisher of Enemies''), designated S2 Strategic Strike Nuclear Submarine, is the lead ship of India's of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines. The 6,000 tonne vessel was built under the Advance ...

(ATV-1) include the advanced USHUS sonar system. By April 2013, five

s of the navy were upgraded to include the USHUS system. They are, in order of their upgrade: ''Sindhuvir'', ''Sindhuratna'', ''Sindugosh'', ''Sinduvijay'' and ''Sindhurakshak''. INS ''Sindhukirti'' was upgraded in India at

Hindustan Shipyard Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) is a shipyard located in Visakhapatnam on the east coast of India. History Founded as the ''Scindia Shipyard'', it was built by industrialist Walchand Hirachand as a part of The Scindia Steam Navigation Company ...

. The remaining submarines of the class are expect to follow.

References

{{reflist Military equipment of India Indian Navy Sonar Navigational equipment

Design and description

Production

CAG report

Current status

See also

References