Article Posted on : - Nov 14, 2010

NEW DELHI (PTI): Indian Navy is planning to buy propulsion vehicles for its diving teams that would enable them to carry out undersea clearing operations during combat in quicker time.

The Navy has issued a request to manufacturers of the original equipment for furnishing details of their products for a likely future global tender for the equipment, a Navy officer said here Sunday.

“The diver propulsion vehicle's essential role is to enhance performance of naval clearance diving teams during combat operations. The DPV will increase the reach of the naval combat diver thereby directly affecting the combat role outcome,” the officer said.

The DPV's length will be not more than three metres and it will weigh less than 80 kg. Driven by an electric battery, the vehicle will be able to carry two divers at a time in operating depths of 30 metres.

It will have a submerged speed of two knots and range of four nautical miles, while the surface speed would be 1.5 knots and range 2.5 nautical miles.

One of the conditions for the DPV that the Navy will consider before buying is minimum noise, both on surface and underwater, so that a stealthy diving operation can be carried out without the enemy detecting them, the officer said.

The shelf life of its battery will be three years and charging time less than 12 hours.

“We are looking for a light weight, portable DPV with compact and robust design to withstand extreme environmental conditions including pressure and temperatures from minus 15 to 40 degree Celsius,” the officer said.

The DPV will be deployable from air or boat and easy to operate with user-friendly controls, inbuilt navigation systems with depth gauges.

“The battery-operated propulsion system will be capable of functioning while submerged without requirement to recharge for at least 3 hours,” he said.