By Staff Correspondent
Ministry of Defence has signed a contract on 25 Mar 22 with Larsen & Toubro Ltd. for the acquisition of Two Multi-Purpose Vessels (MPVs) for the Indian Navy at an overall cost of Rs.887 Crore under the “Buy-Indian” Category. The contract was signed in the presence of VAdm SN Ghormade, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff and Pankaj Agarwal, Additional Secretary & Director General Acquisition. Delivery of vessels is scheduled to commence from May 2025.
MPVs will be the first of its kind platform, constructed to provide a cost-effective solution to meet a variety of requirements of Indian Navy. These vessels, to be built by L&T shipyard at Kattupally (Chennai), will perform multi-role support functions such as maritime surveillance& patrol, launching/recovery of torpedoes and operation of various types of aerial, surface and underwater targets for Gunnery/ASW firing exercises.
These vessels would also be capable of towing ships and rendering Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR) support with limited hospital ship capability. They will also act as trial platform for naval weapons and sensors under development, support platform for ISV & salvage operations, and to provide logistics support for our island territories.
This contract will further boost and encourage active participation of the Indian Shipbuilding Industry in consonance with the “AatmanirbharBharat” initiatives of the Government of India. With a majority of the equipment and system sourced from indigenous manufacturers, these vessels will be a proud flag-bearer of the “Make in India, Make for the World” initiatives of the Ministry of Defence.
