As Indian Air Force is having pilotless aircraft, Indian Navy too can have autonomous underwater vehicles, which can lay mines, launch missiles, take pictures without the need of any human being and return to the base as per instructions given through satellite. Naval Science and Technology Laboratory (NSTL), a wing of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has developed the 400-kg vehicle, which can carry out the instructions on its own moving 3-4 metre below water, said Rear Admiral S. Mohapatra. It will be guided by Geographical Position System (GPS). The vehicle moves so slowly and without noise that it cannot activate mines and so can move safely in the enemy's territory, he explained.

Speaking to newspersons here today, he said that NSTL has developed one-man hovercraft that moved 1.5 metres above water and can launch torpedoes. "The craft was made using Maruti 800 engine,'' said Rear Admiral Mahopatra. The craft will be handed over to the Navy in the next two or three months. The IIT, Kharagpur, provided technical support.

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