Naval Science and Technological Laboratory

The Naval Science and Technological Laboratory is an Indian defence laboratory of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, located in Visakhapatnam. Its main function is the research and development of underwater weapons and associated systems. NSTL is organized under DRDO's Directorate of Naval R&D. The present director of NSTL is Dr. Abraham Varughese and Director General is Dr Y. Sreenivas Rao, Distinguished Scientist.

WWW drdo.gov.in/drdo/labs/NST...

History

NSTL was established on 20 August 1969 to undertake research and development of major naval systems and underwater weapons for the Indian Navy to make it self-reliant.

Areas of work

NSTL is involved in the design, development, testing, evaluation and productionization of underwater weapons and their associated weapon control systems. These include torpedoes, mines, decoys, targets, simulators, Fire Control Systems and weapon launchers.
The lab is also involved in investigating hydrodynamic parameters and structural design of surface and submerged naval platforms and in evolving design criteria through model studies and simulation. NSTL is also involved in developing Warship Technologies, Stealth Technology for ships and Hydro-dynamic research services.
NSTL also develops specialized materials for Marine Applications, including materials for mitigation of Radar, IR, Magnetic, Acoustic and ELFE Signatures leading to stealthier platforms.

Facilities

NSTL is equipped with laboratories and Hydrodynamic research facilities including a High Speed Towing Tank, a Cavitation Tunnel and a Wind Tunnel. They also have Acoustic, Shock, Noise and Vibration Test Facilities that are used to measure, study and analyze the mitigation of underwater noise generated by ships and submarines.

Projects and Products

Maareech ATDS
Autonomous underwater vehicles
* [|High Endurance Autonomous Underwater Vehicle]
* Man-portable Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (MP-AUVs)
Torpedoes
* Torpedo Advanced Light Shyena
* Advanced Light Weight Torpedo
* Varunastra HWT
* Shakti Thermal Torpedo
* Takshak Torpedo
Multi-Influence Ground Mine

High Endurance Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (HEAUV)

DRDO's NSTL in partnership with the Cochin Shipyard is developing the HEAUV autonomous underwater vehicle. The HEAUV, first reported in 2024, is undergoing multiple trials. The vehicle has a weight of, length of around and diameter of. As for the performance, it has a maximum depth of, endurance of 15 days at an economical speed of and a maximum speed of. It can be mounted with swappable mission-specific payloads. The equipment include:–

X band 360° surveillance radar for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance operations, developed by LRDE.
-rated mast mounted radome to house collision avoidance radar.
Communication systems.
Front and flank array sonars as primary underwater sensors, side-scan sonars for mine countermeasure operations developed by NPOL.
Array of batteries for propulsion system which includes electric motors connected to composite propellers.
Capsule-based hydrogen fuel cell power plant for the acquisition of eight HEAUVs for Indian Navy's ASW, ISR and MCM operations as well as bathymetric and oceanographic data gathering. Further, an Expression of Interest was released to invite Indian companies to develop an HEAUV for just ASW operations. As of now, GRSE is also developing HEAUV-ASW expected to completed by 2027 along with its Neerakshi AUV. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders also released an EoI for HEAUV-ASW development in 2023.

Man-Portable Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (MP-AUVs)

NSTL has developed a generation of Man-Portable Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for mine countermeasure operations equipped with side-scan sonars and underwater cameras. They will be tasked to detect and classify mine-like objects with assistance from deep learning based target recognition. Additionally, the AUVs employ underwater acoustic communication for inter-AUV data exchange. The field trials was completed at NSTL Harbour in November 2025.

Multi-Influence Ground Mine (MIGM)

Multi-Influence Ground Mine is a tactical naval mine developed for the Indian Navy by NSTL in collaboration with HEMRL and TBRL as well as Bharat Dynamics Limited and Apollo Microsystems Limited as the production agency. The system is designed to counter stealth surface ships and submarines by detecting their various influences such as acoustic, magnetic and pressure signatures. On 5 May 2025, DRDO successfully undertook the combat firing of the mine.