Defence Ministry signs ₹4,106 crore contracts for IAF’s GSAT-7C satellite and Navy’s Varunastra torpedoes

The Ministry of Defence on 15 October signed two contracts together worth about ₹4,106 crore, one for a dedicated communication satellite for the Indian Air Force and the other for Varunastra heavyweight torpedoes for the Indian Navy, according to reports by The Week and UNI.

The agreements were inked in New Delhi in the presence of A Anbarasu, Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisition) in the Department of Defence, the reports said.

• Total value: about ₹4,106 crore
• GSAT-7C satellite for the IAF: ₹2,563 crore, with NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), Bengaluru
• Varunastra torpedoes for the Navy: ₹1,543 crore, with Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL), Hyderabad

GSAT-7C for the Air Force

NSIL, a public sector company under the Department of Space, will supply the GSAT-7C satellite. The ministry has said the satellite is designed, developed and built in India, according to both outlets.

The satellite is meant to give the IAF secure and resilient links between its aircraft and other operational assets, particularly during missions spread over wide areas, UNI reported. It is also expected to support communication beyond line of sight, where ordinary radio links fall short, and to work alongside software-defined radios and ground hubs. The ministry said this would help in “strengthening operational coordination and overall combat effectiveness”, as quoted by UNI.

Varunastra torpedoes for the Navy

Varunastra is a ship-launched heavyweight torpedo designed to hunt submarines. It was developed by the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), a DRDO laboratory, and is manufactured by BDL. UNI noted that the weapon was first inducted into the Navy in 2016.

According to details published by The Week and UNI, the torpedo:

• is about 7.78 metres long with a diameter of 533.4 mm
• weighs roughly 1,850 kg in its combat configuration
• can operate at depths from 8 metres to 600 metres
• uses electric propulsion with contra-rotating propellers and acoustic homing
• can strike submarines at long range in both shallow and deep waters

The Week also reported that the torpedo has counter-countermeasure features and can track quiet targets. Neither report gave the number of torpedoes being ordered.

Push for domestic production

The ministry linked both orders to the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India programmes, saying the contracts support self-reliance in critical defence technologies, according to both outlets.

Sources: The Week, UNI