SINGAPORE — India’s Ministry of Defence announced Monday a contract worth 53,866.50 crore rupees (approximately US$5.7 billion) with two state-owned shipbuilders to construct eight Next Generation Corvettes for the Indian Navy.
Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) will build five and three vessels respectively. Both yards are majority-owned by the Indian government and were selected through a competitive process.
The ministry described the award as a significant milestone, marking the first program in which the Indian Navy designs the ships while Defence Public Sector Undertakings handle construction. The corvettes will be equipped with advanced missile, weapon, and sensor suites capable of engaging aerial, surface, and subsurface threats.
“The induction of these ships will significantly enhance the Indian Navy’s operational capabilities in safeguarding maritime trade routes, conducting anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare operations, strengthening coastal defence, undertaking littoral combat operations, and carrying out maritime presence and surveillance missions,” the ministry stated.
According to GRSE, each vessel will measure 127 metres in length with a 17.6-metre beam and a deadweight tonnage of 4,950 tonnes. A crew of 150 — comprising 11 officers and 139 sailors — will operate the ships, which are powered by a combined diesel and gas turbine cross-connect (CODAG-CC) arrangement driving two controllable-pitch propellers for a top speed of 26 knots and an endurance of up to 14 days.
The armament fit includes indigenous Medium Range Anti-Ship Missiles (MRAShM), MRSAM medium-range surface-to-air missiles, and 324mm torpedo tubes. Additional weapons comprise a Leonardo 76mm Super Rapid naval gun, Russian AK-630 close-in weapon systems, and 12.7mm remote weapon stations. The ships will also carry electro-optical infrared search-and-track systems alongside multifunction surveillance, tracking, and guidance radars, though specific radar models have not been disclosed.