Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory

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Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory
Established1958
Director Dr. AJITHKUMAR K
AddressThrikkakara P.O.,
Kochi - 682 021.
Location Kochi, Kerala
Operating agency
DRDO
Website

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 Research & Development of sonar systems, technologies for underwater surveillance, study of ocean environment and underwater materials. [1]

Contents

History

The Indian Naval Physical Laboratory (INPL) was established in Kochi by Indian Navy in 1952. It worked initially as a field laboratory for fleet support activities. It was merged with DRDO in 1958 and started working on underwater systems. INPL was rechristened as Naval Physical Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL).

Till 1990, NPOL functioned from within the Naval Base in Kochi. In 1990, it moved into a new 60-acre (240,000 m2) campus at Thrikkakara, a suburb of Kochi. The new campus has a main technical complex and two residential complexes - SAGAR and VARUNA. The technical complex houses the main building, Abhinavam building and several test facilities including an acoustic tank. Besides the campus in Thrikkakara, NPOL has an offsite setup of underwater acoustic research facility at Idukki Lake, 100 km east of Kochi. Since 1995, NPOL has operated INS Sagardhwani, a 2000-ton Oceanographic research vessel used for oceanographic data collection.

Areas of work

NPOL is developing a technology called seabed arrays that will be laid over the seabed surface for ocean surveillance which will provide measurements and inform the control centre about the happenings underneath through satellite. DRDO is planning a dedicated satellite for the coastal surveillance system.

All the future inductions planned by the Indian Navy are to be fitted with NPOL designed sonars. The sonars under development are HUMSA NG (upgrade of the HUMSA sonar), the submarine sonars USHUS (for the Sindhugosh class) and PAYAL for the Arihant class. [1]

Underwater acoustics is another area which NPOL is looking at. The Physical Oceanographic conditions which will decide the propagation of the sound waves inside water is studied with the help of DRDO's Research Vessel INS Sagardhwani and in-house developed Ocean models. Different Sonar Range Prediction models are also developed by NPOL in the recent years which are used by Indian Navy. [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Undersea Warfare Center</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multibeam echosounder</span> Type of sonar used to map the seabed

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project Artemis</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argus Island</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Integrated Coastal Surveillance System</span>

The Integrated Coastal Surveillance System (ICSS) is a coastal surveillance system operated by India with the goal to protect its coastline, ensure regional security, and assist friendly navies by quickly detecting, locating and monitoring maritime activity in the Indian Ocean. The system was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Bharat Electronics, and forms part of the National Command Control Communication and Intelligence System (NC3I). Although the ICSS was built primarily for coastal and maritime security, the system can also be used for vessel traffic management, harbour surveillance and navigation. The core of the ICSS is a network of remote ground-based radar stations called the Coastal Surveillance Network (CSN). In addition to radars, stations are also fitted with optical sensors, electro-optical sensors, thermal imagers, cameras, meteorological systems, an Automatic Identification System (AIS), a distress alert transmission system (DATS), electronic warfare support measures, and very high frequency (VHF) radio communication systems.

References

  1. 1 2 "DRDO gets it right when it's unlike DRDO". Indian Express. 27 November 2006. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  2. "DRDO to develop unmanned underwater vehicles". The Hindu . 13 December 2007. Archived from the original on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 7 February 2008.
  3. M. Somasekhar (6 February 2008). "DRDO plans satellite-based coastal surveillance system". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 7 February 2008.

Coordinates: 10°01′34″N76°20′02″E / 10.026°N 76.334°E / 10.026; 76.334