By A Correspondent
Kochi (Kerala): India’s state-run Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) on Jan. 20, 2025, laid the keel for the Indian Navy‘s Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC). This is the seventh vessel under an eight-vessel contract awarded to CSL by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Apr. 30, 2019.
Southern Naval Command Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Upal Kundu laid the keel for the seventh craft (codenamed BY 529, Machilipatnam) at a ceremony at CSL, according to an Indian Navy statement.
“With almost all major and auxiliary equipment and systems sourced from Indigenous manufacturers, these ships exemplify the Government of India’s “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” initiative, it said.
“This milestone, in quick succession of the keel laying of the sixth ship in Dec. 2024 and launching of the fourth and fifth ships at CSL in Sep. 2024, demonstrates the steadfast efforts of the Indian shipyards to meet Indian Navy’s growing operational requirements.”
The ships, known as the ‘Mahe‘ class, are equipped with indigenously developed, state-of-the-art underwater sensors. The first ship under the project is slated for delivery later this year.
The ships would undertake anti-submarine operations in coastal waters as well as Low-Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO) and Mine Laying Operations.
Besides enhancing the Indian Navy’s Anti-Submarine Warfare capabilities, the high indigenous content on these ASW SWCs also generates large-scale employment and capability enhancement of Indian manufacturing units, the statement said.
Threat from Chinese Submarines
Indian Navy is boosting its anti-submarine warfare capabilities to meet the threat from China‘s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).
China ventured into the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) in 2007 by sending its first warships there on the pretext of fighting pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
Since then, China has been maintaining a flotilla of warships and submarines, including nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed submarines, in the IOR.
Those Chinese warships and vessels have sailed close to the Indian waters and docked at ports in India’s neighbourhood, threatening India’s maritime security.
India considers the IOR as its backyard and has on several occasions voiced that IOR maritime security is its priority.
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