Indian Navy signs contract with BEL to boost coastal surveillance under NMDA Project
New Delhi, July 9. In a significant move to enhance India’s maritime and coastal security architecture, the Indian Navy has signed a contract with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bengaluru, for the implementation of the National Maritime Domain Awareness (NMDA) Project.
The agreement was formalised in the presence of Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti, Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, and Manoj Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of BEL.
The NMDA Project aims to establish an integrated system for real-time data collation, analysis, and information sharing among various maritime stakeholders, significantly boosting India’s situational awareness at sea. A key component of the project includes the upgradation of the existing National Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence (NC3I) Network to a more advanced NMDA Network.
Artificial Intelligence-enabled software will be incorporated to improve the efficiency of data processing and threat detection. Additionally, the Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurugram – currently the nerve centre of the NC3I Network – will be upgraded into a multi-agency NMDA centre, hosting representatives from multiple national security and maritime agencies.
The project will be executed on a turnkey basis and administered by the Indian Navy, underscoring its pivotal role in safeguarding the nation’s maritime interests.
