TSAMTO, March 31. The Defense Research and Development Organization of the Ministry of Defense of India (DRDO) has successfully tested for the first time a new version of the improved light torpedo "Shyena" (Shyena), adapted for use on board the IL-38SD maritime patrol aircraft of the Indian Navy.
According to Jane's Defense Weekly, citing official sources, the nationally developed munition, equipped with a parachute drop mechanism, was tested on March 8 off the east coast of India near Visakhapatnam.
Developed by the Naval Science and Technology Laboratory (NSTL) DRDO, the new version is capable of tracking multiple targets using state-of-the-art signal processing algorithms. NSTL has developed a basic version of the torpedo, designed for use on board ships and marine helicopters, with a length of 2.75 m and a weight of 220 kg. The ammunition is loaded with 50 kg of explosive.
Equipped with an electric motor and homing systems, the Shiena series torpedoes are manufactured by the state-owned Bharat Dynamics Limited and first entered service in early 2012. According to DRDO, they can be used at depths of up to 540 m and attack submarines moving at speeds of up to 33 knots.
Shiena was developed on the basis of the A244S light torpedo project, which the Italian company Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei (WASS) supplied to the Indian Navy in the early 1990s.
In early 2017, India sold an unnamed number of Shi'en torpedoes to the Myanmar Navy under a contract worth $ 37.9 million.
