India and the United Kingdom (UK) discussed the future of electric propulsion in naval vessels during the recently held second India-UK Electric Propulsion Capability Partnership Joint Working Group meeting in New Delhi.
The meeting was co-chaired by Joint Secretary (Naval Systems), Department of Defence Production Rajeev Prakash and Director, Ships Operations and Capability Integration, Defence Equipment & Support, Rear Admiral Steve McCarthy.
Noteworthy, India’s naval warships do not currently have electric propulsion systems.
And, that is why the Indian Navy is considering adding them to future warships.
Considering this, both the countries discussed issues of the Electric Propulsion Partnership like finalisation of the Statement of Technical Requirements (SOTR), Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) procedures, maintenance, Manning Philosophy and System Integration requirements.
It is worth mentioning that electric propulsion uses electrical power to drive propeller blades for propulsion.
Developing Electric Propulsion in naval vessels can have numerous effects on a military including increasing electric power availability, reducing carbon footprint and improving ship navigation economy.
