Indian Navy tests DRDO-developed, 'Sahayak Air Droppable Containers'

New Delhi: India has developed a cylindrical container which can provide the wherewithal to supply spares and stores to ships during times of war or emergency when warships are unable to reach the coast. The Indian Navy recently tested the indigenous container which can be dropped from air to descend to the sea.

With the aid of the Ilyushin Il-38, the maritime patrol aircraft used for managing heavy traffic, the necessary spare parts and other materials can be transported easily through such air droppable containers, to a vessel deployed more than 2000 km from the coast.

The containers were tested off the coast of Goa in the Arabian Sea. They are equipped to carry a payload that weighs up to 50 kg and can be dropped from a heavy aircraft to descend to the sea. It thus facilitates help to the deployed warships at a quick pace and enables the deployment duration of ships on missions in an emergency to be extended further, clarified an Indian Navy official.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Naval Science and Technology Laboratory (NSTL) and the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) have collaborated to develop the indigenous air droppable containers jointly. The domestically developed containers are called the Sahayak Air Droppable Containers. They will be produced on a mass scale for the Indian Navy.