INS Machilipatnam Launched: Indigenous Anti-Submarine Shallow Water Craft Programme
Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) launched Machilipatnam, the seventh of eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC) being built for the Indian Navy.
The vessel is 78 metres long, 11.36 metres wide, with a draught of about 2.7 metres, and carries indigenous content exceeding 80%.
It is named after the historic port city of Machilipatnam in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, known for its centuries-old maritime trade links.
The ship is designed for anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, Low Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO), and mine-laying/subsurface surveillance duties.
The launch was conducted in the presence of a senior Department of Military Affairs official, marking continued progress in the Navy's indigenous shipbuilding programme.
ASW Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC) Project
The ASW SWC project addresses a long-standing capability gap: dedicated platforms to detect and neutralise submarines and underwater threats in shallow coastal waters and harbour approaches, where larger frigates/destroyers are less effective. The Ministry of Defence signed contracts in April 2019 for 16 such craft — eight each with Cochin Shipyard Limited (Kochi) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE, Kolkata) — under the Mahe class, named after the first ship, INS Mahe (commissioned November 2025). Machilipatnam is the seventh CSL-built vessel in this class.
Key Details
- Total programme: 16 ASW SWCs across two public sector shipyards (CSL and GRSE)
- Lead ship: INS Mahe, commissioned November 24, 2025, at Naval Dockyard, Mumbai
- Second ship, INS Malvan, commissioned in 2026
- Roles: anti-submarine warfare in shallow/coastal waters, Low Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO), mine-laying, subsurface surveillance
- All ships of both classes are targeted for delivery/commissioning by 2028
Machilipatnam's launch is a sequential milestone in this 16-ship indigenous programme, following the commissioning of the first two vessels of the class.
Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020: "Buy (Indian-IDDM)" Category
The Buy (Indian-IDDM — Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) category under DAP 2020 is the highest-priority acquisition route for defence procurement, reserved for Indian vendors with FDI capped at 49% and minimum indigenous content of 50% for IDDM-tagged platforms (60% for non-IDDM "Buy Indian" cases). It operationalises the Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) push in defence manufacturing.
Machilipatnam's stated indigenous content of over 80% substantially exceeds the DAP 2020 threshold for IDDM classification, illustrating the shift from imported naval platforms toward domestic warship design and construction.
Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW): Basics
ASW refers to detecting, tracking, and neutralising hostile submarines using sonar (active/passive), sonobuoys, torpedoes, depth charges, and anti-submarine rockets. Shallow, coastal waters pose distinct ASW challenges — acoustic conditions differ from open ocean, and larger warships often cannot manoeuvre close to the coast — which is the specific gap the ASW SWC class fills, complementing the Navy's deeper-water ASW assets such as P-8I maritime patrol aircraft and Kamorta-class corvettes.
Machilipatnam adds to the Navy's dedicated littoral ASW fleet, addressing coastal and harbour-approach submarine threats as part of a layered maritime security architecture.
- Machilipatnam: 78.0 m long, 11.36 m wide, ~2.7 m draught
- Indigenous content: over 80%
- Seventh of eight CSL-built ASW SWCs; 16 total across CSL and GRSE
- Lead ship of class, INS Mahe, commissioned November 24, 2025
- Named after Machilipatnam, a historic port in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh
- Builder: Cochin Shipyard Limited, Kochi, Kerala