Indian Navy gets niche DRDO technology that obscures radar signals

New Delhi: The DRDO on Wednesday handed over to the Indian Navy a niche technology that obscures radar signals and creates a microwave shield around platforms and assets, thus reducing radar detection, the defence ministry said.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) handed over the Medium Range-Microwave Obscurant Chaff Rocket (MR-MOCR) to the Navy at a ceremony here.

"Microwave Obscurant Chaff (MOC), a niche technology developed by DRDO's Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur, obscures radar signals and creates a microwave shield around platforms and assets, thus reducing radar detection," the ministry said in a statement.

A special type of fibres with a diameter of a few microns and unique microwave obscuration properties have been assembled in the medium-range chaff rocket. When fired, the rocket forms microwave obscurant clouds in space spreading over a sufficient area with adequate persistence time, thus creating an effective shield against threats having radio frequency seekers, it said.

The phase-I trials of MR-MOCR were successfully conducted from Indian Navy ships, demonstrating the MOC cloud blooming and being persistent in space.

"In phase-II trials, the Radar Cross Section (RCS) reduction of an aerial target to the extent of 90 per cent has been demonstrated and cleared by the Indian Navy," it said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has complimented the DRDO and the Indian Navy on the successful development of MR-MOCR. He described the MOC technology as another step towards achieving 'Aatmanirbharta' (self-reliance) in defence.

The MR-MOCR has been handed over by the secretary in the Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO Samir V Kamat, to the Director General of Naval Armament Inspection, Indian Navy, Rear Admiral Brijesh Vashistha.

The DRDO chairman congratulated the Defence Laboratory's Jodhpur team for this achievement.

The Director General of Naval Armament Inspection, Indian Navy also applauded the efforts of the DRDO for indigenously developing this strategically important technology in a short span of time, the statement said.