By A Correspondent
Hazira (Gujarat): India’s Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh has called for moving forward with the scheduled progress in the Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) project for the Navy’s diesel-electric conventional submarines. The indigenous AIP system, developed by the Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL), has achieved a key milestone with the inauguration of the ‘Setting to Work’ Phase-2 activities.
“A significant milestone towards enhancing the Indian Navy’s underwater capabilities has been achieved with the inauguration of ‘Setting to Work’ (STW) Phase-2 activity of the AIP system’s ‘Energy Module’,” the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement on Saturday (October 24, 2026). The AIP system boosts the underwater endurance of the diesel-electric submarines by reducing their dependence on atmospheric oxygen.
The NMRL is a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) laboratory. But the STW Phase-2 activities were inaugurated at the private-sector Larsen and Toubro’s AM Naik Heavy Engineering Complex in Hazira, Gujarat.
Rajesh Kumar Singh, holding additional charge as DRDO Chairman and Department of Defence R&D Secretary, participated in the inauguration virtually from New Delhi. Indian Navy’s Chief of Materials Vice Admiral B Sivakumar and DRDO’s Naval Systems and Materials Director General Dr R Balamuralikrishnan were present at Hazira.
On the occasion, Singh congratulated DRDO and the industry partners and appreciated the scientific perseverance and industrial cooperation in the indigenous AIP programme, which has culminated in productive reality on the shop floor. He also acknowledged the Indian Navy’s cooperation with DRDO throughout the programme, including testing and validating at every stage of the trials.
He emphasised working towards the next phases of the programme to achieve the Navy’s induction timelines for the AIP system while maintaining the exacting safety culture that hydrogen and fuel cell systems require without compromise.
In the next phase, the AIP Energy Module will be energised for power production and tested rigorously as per Indian Navy’s protocols before handing over to Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) for integration on Kalvari-class Submarine in early 2027.
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