India and Australia Sign Three-Year Undersea Surveillance Pact for Joint Research on Submarine Tracking.
MOUs and Agreement
India and Australia have entered into a strategic partnership to strengthen undersea surveillance capabilities through a three-year joint research project launched on July 3, 2025, between India’s Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) and Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG). The agreement focuses on enhancing capabilities in tracking submarines and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs).
- This bilateral project will be executed by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) through NPOL in Kochi, Kerala, and DSTG under Australia's Department of Defence. The pact aims to foster knowledge sharing, joint sea trials, and technological co-development for real-time submarine detection.
- A key area of collaboration under the project is Towed Array Target Motion Analysis (TMA), a system involving long cables equipped with hydrophones to capture underwater acoustic signals emitted by submarines or AUVs. These signals are processed for direction, speed, and location tracking.
- The project also focuses on developing TMA algorithms that allow passive tracking of underwater threats without active sonar, offering stealth advantages in military operations. These algorithms will be tested in both Indian and Australian waters before being deployed for live operations.
Main Point :- (i) Another critical research component is Noise Management, which aims to reduce noise distortion caused by marine environments, improving the accuracy of acoustic signal detection. The combination of TMA and refined noise reduction algorithms will enhance underwater situational awareness.
(ii) This India-Australia defence collaboration reflects growing Indo-Pacific security cooperation and aligns with India's Atmanirbhar Bharat strategy in defence research.
(iii) The NPOL is a key DRDO lab headed by Director Dr. Duvvuri Seshagiri, and is based in Kochi, Kerala.
About Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL)
Director : Dr. Duvvuri Seshagiri
Headquarters : Kochi, Kerala
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