Keel Laying of the Seventh Anti-Submarine Warfare ship (ASW SWC) (BY 529, INS Machilipatnam) of the project being built for the Indian Navy was held at Cochin Shipyard Limited by Rear Admiral Upal Kundu, VSM, Chief of Staff, Southern Naval Command on 29 Jan 2025.
Shri Madhu S Nair, Chairman and Managing Director, CSL, Director (Technical) and Director (Operations) of CSL, Executive Directors of CSL, General Manager (Ship Building), Warship Production Superintendent, Kochi, Senior officials of Indian Navy & CSL, representatives from the Classification society (DNV), officers, supervisors and workmen of CSL were present for the ceremony.
High-end technology-intensive warships
Contract for building eight (8) ASW SWC ships was signed between Ministry of Defense (MoD) and Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), on 30 April 2019. The Mahe Class of Ships will replace the in-service Abhay class ASW Corvettes of the Indian Navy and are designed to undertake anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, Low-Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO), and Mine Laying Operations, including subsurface surveillance.
These vessels are capable of a maximum speed of 25 knots and an endurance of 1800 nautical miles. The vessels are fitted with indigenously developed, state-of-the-art SONARS, for underwater surveillance. This is a fine example of Indian capability and prowess to manufacture high-end technology-intensive warships with high indigenous content under 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'.
