The Indian Prime Minister marked a significant event on 19th November, 2021 as he presented the Advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) Suite ‘Shakti’ to the Indian Navy. This ceremony took place amidst the Rashtra Raksha Samarpan Parv, a part of the broader ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahaotsav’ celebrations. In addition to Shakti, the Prime Minister also bestowed upon the Air Force an indigenously-built Light Combat Helicopter (HAL’s LCH), and a couple of small drones (‘SWITCH 1.0 UAV’ and ‘MR-20’), which were built by Indian start-ups.
Key Features of Shakti
The introduction of Shakti will reinforce an electronic layer of defense against contemporary radars and anti-ship missiles, ensuring electronic dominance and survivability in the maritime battlefield. The state-of-the-art system is set to replace the older generation EW Systems used by the Indian Navy. Shakti comes with the integration of wideband Electronic Support Measures (ESM) and Electronic Counter Measure (ECM) that fortify the defense of Indian Navy Ships against missile attacks. Its advanced capabilities allows for precise direction-finding and the interception of modern radars. Additionally, the system boasts a built-in radar fingerprinting and data recording option for post-mission analysis. This serves to augment the capabilities of the Indian Navy, marking an important step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat in the realm of advanced defense technologies.
Design and Production of Shakti
Shakti was designed by the Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL) based in Hyderabad. DLRL functions under the auspices of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and has designed the Shakti system specifically for Capital Warships of the Indian Navy. It aids in the interception, detection, classification, identification, and jamming of both conventional and contemporary Radars.
Deployment and Future Production
The first Shakti system was installed on-board INS Visakhapatnam and is presently being set up on the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, INS Vikrant. A total of twelve Shakti Systems are undergoing production at Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL). This endeavour is supported by over fifty Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and costs a total of Rs 1805 Crores. In the future, these systems are slated to be installed on-board capital warships that are currently under production. These include the likes of P-15B, P-17A, and Talwar class follow-on ships.
