Introduction

The commitment for self-reliance in the Indian Navy (IN) came to the fore as early as in 1961 with the commissioning of the first indigenous ship INS Ajay. Subsequently from mid 60’s Navy embarked on construction of the indigenously built Leander class Frigates on ToT from the Royal Navy. IN has since then come a long way in participating with the indigenous industry to enhance and encourage indigenisation of ship/ submarine design, construction material, machinery, equipment and systems. However, certain equipment and systems (few in quantity but considerable in cost) are still being sourced from abroad.

Development in the field of Naval systems is inherently technology intensive and requires substantial investment of time, money and resources. Advancements in technology are no longer the preserve of defence and it is often the civil sector and the commercial concerns which drive the technology today. Industry, including the private sector and the academia can therefore play a vital role in meeting sophisticated needs of the armed forces through cost-effective utilisation of its know-how and existing infrastructure.

Naval equipment is designed to withstand very harsh marine environment and is generally built to Naval Engineering Standard(NES)/Indian Navy(IN) specific standards promulgated by professional Directorate at IHQ MoD(N). Some of the characteristics that differentiate Naval equipment from general purpose equipment are shock standards, Environmental testing as per JSS 55555 and EMI/EMC testing. The various standard to which an equipment is required to be developed along with the testing procedure will be specified in Specification of Technical Requirements (SOTRs).