GSAT-7C communication satellite and Varunastra Heavy Weight Torpedoes

• The Ministry of Defence has signed contracts worth about ₹4,106 crore for GSAT-7C communication satellite capability for the Indian Air Force and Varunastra Heavy Weight Torpedoes for the Indian Navy.
• The GSAT-7C contract is worth ₹2,563 crore with New Space India Limited, while the Varunastra contract is worth ₹1,543 crore with Bharat Dynamics Limited.

About Varunastra

• Varunastra is an indigenous, ship-launched, heavy-weight, electrically propelled anti-submarine torpedo.
• It was developed by the Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), DRDO and is produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL).
• It is designed to engage quiet submarines in both deep and shallow waters, including in intense countermeasure environments.
• It can be fired from Indian Navy ASW ships capable of launching heavyweight torpedoes.
• Varunastra was inducted into the Indian Navy in 2016.

Key Features

• Speed: More than 40 knots.
• Range: About 40 km.
• Operating depth: Up to around 600 metres.
• Uses active-passive acoustic homing and a low-drift inertial navigation system.
• Equipped with conformal-array transducers, enabling wide-angle detection and tracking of quiet targets.
• It has long-range and multi-manoeuvring capability, strengthening anti-submarine warfare operations.

About GSAT-7C

• GSAT-7C is an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured dedicated communication satellite for the Indian Air Force.
• It will provide secure, resilient and seamless communication for IAF assets and improve operational effectiveness.

Significance

• The two contracts strengthen India’s secure military communications and anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
• They also support Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India by expanding domestic defence manufacturing in critical technologies.