The government awarded a contract for the construction of eight Anti Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts (ASW SWCs), to the Cochin Shipyard, in line with the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) initiative to boost indigenous design, development and manufacturing.
Officials from Indian Navy and the Indian Government-run shipbuilder Cochin Shipyard Limited marked the commencement of the construction of two Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts (ASW SWC) for the Navy. Known as “keel-laying”, the ceremony is the formal recognition of a ship’s construction. Once built and formally commissioned into the Indian Navy, these vessels (temporarily designated as BY524 and BY525) will undertake sub-surface surveillance in coastal areas to detect and neutralise underwater threats.
The Indian Government had awarded a contract for the construction of eight ASW SWCs, to the Cochin Shipyard, in line with the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat'(self-reliant India) initiative to boost indigenous design, development and manufacturing.
At present, three ships of the eight in this series are under construction. The first vessel of this class had its keel laid in August 2022 and all vessels in this fleet are being built for a service life of 25 years. According to the Indian Navy, all major and auxiliary systems for these vessels have been sourced from indigenous manufacturers.
Cochin Shipyard Limited has built India’s most complex and expensive warship, the indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant, which was formally commissioned into the Indian Navy on September 2nd 2022. While the aircraft carrier has been commissioned into the Navy, it would be more than a year before it can undertake active duties, as integrations of various weapons, systems and technologies have to be carried out and tested.
Recently, the Indian Navy announced that they had successfully conducted landings and take-offs of the indigenous single-engine Naval Light combat aircraft and the Russian-origin Mig-29K carrier-borne twin-engine fighter.