Ministry of Defence places order for eight corvettes worth ₹53,866.50 crore

The Ministry of Defence has said that it has signed contracts worth ₹53,866.50 crore with the listed Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) and Goa Shipyard (GSL) to acquire eight corvettes for the Indian Navy.

Under the contracts, GRSE will construct five corvettes, while GSL will construct the remaining three. The ships will be designed by the Indian Navy and constructed by the two Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) that were selected through a competitive process.

GRSE’s contract is valued at about ₹32,000 crore, and it had won the award as the company emerged as the lowest bidder for the project. The company has said that the corvettes it is readying to build will measure 127 metres in length and 17.6 metres in beam, with a specified deadweight tonnage of 4,950 tonnes. The warships will have an endurance of 14 days at sea without replenishment and a maximum speed of 26 knots.

“Designed for a wide spectrum of maritime missions, the NGCs (next generation corvettes) will undertake multi-role operations, including offensive ship-to-ship and ship-to-surface missile attacks, anti-missile defence, anti-submarine warfare, escort duties, maritime interdiction operations (MIO), including Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS), and local naval defence,” the company has added.

GRSE is currently building nine warships, including an advanced guided missile frigate under the Navy’s Project 17A, four ASW-SWCs (Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft) and four Next Generation Offshore Patrol Vessels. Apart from these, GRSE is executing orders for 36 other platforms, including 13 vessels for export.