In a major developement, the Indian Navy has inked an agreement with Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt. Ltd for acquiring armed autonomous boat swarms under the ‘SPRINT’ initiative, which aims to promote development and usage of indigenous defence technologies by domestic companies. The task of development of this technology is one of the 75 challenges that have been introduced by the Indian Navy under Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav last year.
This is the 50th contract that has been signed under ‘SPRINT’. Reportedly, Sagar Defence Engineering possesses the the know-how to develop this first armed autonomous unmanned boat with swarming capabilities for the country. “The agreement refers to an Indian Navy project of the Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC 7) SPRINT initiative, and the Indian Navy expects to place an order for 12 systems after the construction of the weaponised autonomous unmanned boat,” said the company in a statement.
SPRINT Challenges
The initiative was unveiled by PM Modi during Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) seminar ‘Swavlamban’ in New Delhi in July 2022. SPRINT Challenges aim to boost the usage of indigenous technology in Indian Navy.
In an effort to fulfil the dream of achieving ‘Atmanirbharta’ in Defence and as part of India’s ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations, NIIO, in conjunction with the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), aims to induct at least 75 new indigenous technologies/products into the Indian Navy. This collaborative initiative has been named SPRINT {Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), NIIO and Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC)}.
“We have to work to continuously increase the number of indigenous technologies. Your goal should be that when India celebrates 100 years of its independence, at that time our Navy should be at an unprecedented height”, PM Modi has said while launching the initiative.
Earlier, in March 2022, the Indian Navy had also signed an MoU for knowledge partnership with BharatShakti.in, and the Society for Indigenous Defence Manufacturing (SIDM), as a significant step towards encouraging innovation among young minds and encouraging self-reliance in defence in the country..
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