By N. C. Bipindra

New Delhi: India’s planned commissioning of its latest warship, INS Mahe, on Nov. 24, 2025, at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai marks far more than the arrival of a new warship: it signals the rise of a new coastal defence architecture built entirely around Indian design, Indian industry, and India’s evolving maritime strategy.

Compact, stealthy, and purpose-built for littoral warfare, Mahe is the first in a class of eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) that will patrol, hunt, and dominate India’s near seas.

Precision Hunter for India’s Coastline

Designed and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), Mahe embodies India’s push to control the narrative of the shallow-water battlespace.

At 78 metres and about 1,100 tonnes, the vessel is fitted with torpedoes, Multifunctional Anti-Submarine Rockets (MARE), advanced radars, high-resolution sonar suites, and mine-laying capability, a combination tailored to track and neutralise submarines attempting to slip into India’s coastal approaches.

These capabilities are essential in a region where Pakistan’s growing Air-Independent Propulsion-equipped submarine fleet and China’s expanding undersea footprint in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) pose increasing challenges.

Mahe is built specifically for this environment: highly manoeuvrable, shallow-draft, and engineered for endurance during long coastal patrols and Low-Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO).

Industrial Triumph: 80% Made in India

The Mahe-class is a showcase of the rapid expansion of India’s naval ecosystem, bringing together dozens of players across the defence supply chain.

Key contributors include:

• Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL): prime designer and integrator of the entire platform.
• Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL): fire-control systems, radar suites, communication systems.
• Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE): key design collaboration and subsystem supply.
• Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T): engineering components, launchers, hull-integrated systems.
• Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL): torpedoes and anti-submarine rocket systems.
• Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL): auxiliary equipment and engineering support.

And a network of over 100 Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), supplying engines, propulsion components, combat system parts, composites, and electricals.

This coalition of private and public entities is exactly the industrial model the government wants to scale: a distributed ecosystem capable of sustained, high-volume naval production.

Self-Reliance Push Meets Maritime Strategy

The Mahe-class fits squarely into Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s long-term plan to modernise India’s armed forces and build a maritime defence posture designed for two-front deterrence against Pakistan and China.

Over the next decade (2025–2035), India plans to invest over USD 250 billion across defence modernisation, including new destroyers, submarines, aircraft carriers, maritime surveillance assets, and shallow-water combatants like Mahe.

A significant share of this investment is earmarked for platforms built at home, with indigenous content requirements rising each year.

Mahe is the face of this doctrine: a future fleet where Indian yards, Indian electronics, and Indian weapons lead the charge.

Strategic Impact: Securing the Littorals in an Era of Undersea Intrusion

India’s threat matrix has changed sharply in the last decade:

• Pakistan’s submarine fleet is adding Chinese-origin Hangor-class AIP-equipped submarines.
• China’s PLAN vessels, including research ships and submarines, are expanding their IOR presence.
• Coastal vulnerabilities, from Mumbai to the Andaman Sea, demand continuous shallow-water vigilance.

The ASW-SWC fleet is designed to plug these gaps. With eight Mahe-class ships joining service by the end of the decade, India will possess an agile, persistent coastal defence screen that can detect, track, and neutralise intruders far earlier.

A Symbol and a Signal

Named after the historic maritime town of Mahe, the ship carries the emblem of the Urumi, the flexible sword of Kalaripayattu: an apt metaphor for a vessel built to strike swiftly and with precision.

The commissioning of Mahe is both an industrial milestone and a strategic message: India will control its coastline, secure its seas, and build the ships needed to do so — at home, with its own hands.

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