India orders next-gen corvettes for $5.7b under broad naval modernization push

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A view of INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier anchored at Mumbai harbor on March 10, 2023, in Mumbai, India. (Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

NEW DELHI — In a major push to strengthen its naval capabilities , India signed a $5.7 billion contract with domestic companies Monday to build eight next-generation, corvettes that will undertake anti-submarine, anti-surface and coastal defense operations.

The new ships will gradually replace a fleet of aging single-role corvettes.

India’s efforts to upgrade its maritime strength include plans to acquire six advanced submarines through a partnership with Germany and base 26 French Rafale Marine aircraft aboard its aircraft carriers.

The Defense Ministry said the corvettes will be equipped with state-of-the-art capabilities, including advanced missiles, weapons and sensor suites enabling them to undertake missions across the air, surface and sub-surface domains.

The ministry said the project marks a “significant milestone in India’s indigenous warship design and construction capabilities” because it is the first project in which the ships will be designed by the Indian Navy and built in domestic, state-owned shipyards.

Designed as high-speed, stealth combatants, five of the corvettes will be built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) and three by Goa Shipyard. The vessels would have a length of 127 meters, a beam of 17.6 meters, a deadweight tonnage of 4,950 and a maximum speed of 26 knots, according to GRSE.

The corvettes will carry medium-range anti-ship, medium-range surface-to-air missiles and 324 mm torpedo tubes.

The induction of these ships will enhance the Indian Navy’s operational capabilities in safeguarding maritime trade routes, conducting anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare operations, strengthening coastal defense, and undertaking littoral combat operations according to the Defense Ministry.

With about 90% of India’s trade moving through maritime routes and a coastline stretching more than 11,000 km, protecting sea lanes and coastal waters is an important security priority for the country.

The corvettes are part of a wider push by India to bolster its naval strength amid China’s expanding presence in the Indo-Pacific and Pakistan’s deepening military cooperation with Beijing.

Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, said in February that India aims to become a navy with 200-plus ships by 2035. The navy currently has 145 ships and submarines.

That expansion includes plans to acquire six advanced submarines under an approximately $8 billion deal with Germany.

The German ambassador to New Delhi, Jasper Wieck, said in September that the proposed deal to build six next-generation conventional submarines has been set on the German side. “In terms of the documents, it has already been finalized and the German side has agreed to it. It is now up to the Indian side to complete and conclude its internal processes,” Wieck told reporters.

The proposed program involves German shipyard TKMS collaborating with Indian state-owned Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. to build the vessels in India. The submarines will be equipped with air-independent propulsion (AIP) technology, allowing them to remain underwater for longer periods than conventional diesel-electric submarines and making them particularly suited to patrols in the strategic waters of the Indo-Pacific.

Meanwhile, on Oct. 29, a Rafale Marine fighter jet also landed for the first time on India’s newest aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, marking a successful carrier compatibility trial.

The trial comes 18 months after India signed an approximately $7.5 billion contract with France to acquire 26 Rafale Marine aircraft, comprising 22 fighters and four trainer aircraft.

“The ongoing trials mark the first steps towards operationalization of the aircraft in the Indian Navy,” the Indian Navy said.

The Rafales already operate from French aircraft carriers, but their compatibility with the Indian ship’s different launch and recovery arrangements needs to be tested.

The French Rafales will join the Navy’s existing Russian MiG-29Ks and bring modern multirole strike capability to both of its carriers.

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2023年3月10日，印度首艘国产航空母舰“维克兰特”号停泊在印度孟买港。（图片来源：Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times via Getty Images）

新德里——为大幅提升海军实力，印度周一与国内公司签署了一份价值 57 亿美元的合同，建造八艘下一代轻型护卫舰，这些护卫舰将执行反潜、反水面和海岸防御任务。

这些新舰艇将逐步取代老旧的单用途护卫舰舰队。

印度为提升海上实力所做的努力包括计划通过与德国的合作采购六艘先进潜艇，以及在其航空母舰上部署 26 架法国阵风战斗机。

国防部表示，这些护卫舰将配备最先进的能力，包括先进的导弹、武器和传感器套件，使它们能够执行空中、水面和水下任务。

该部表示，该项目标志着“印度自主军舰设计和建造能力的一个重要里程碑”，因为这是第一个由印度海军设计并在国内国有造船厂建造的军舰项目。

这些护卫舰被设计为高速隐形作战舰艇，其中五艘将由加登里奇造船厂（GRSE）建造，三艘将由果阿造船厂建造。据GRSE称，这些舰艇长127米，宽17.6米，载重吨位4950吨，最高航速26节。

这些护卫舰将携带中程反舰导弹、中程舰空导弹和 324 毫米鱼雷发射管。

据国防部称，这些舰艇的入列将增强印度海军在维护海上贸易航线安全、开展反水面和反潜作战行动、加强海岸防御以及进行近岸作战方面的作战能力。

印度约 90% 的贸易通过海上航线进行，海岸线绵延超过 11,000 公里，因此保护海上航道和沿海水域是该国重要的安全优先事项。

这些护卫舰是印度为加强其海军实力而采取的更广泛举措的一部分，旨在应对中国在印太地区的影响力不断扩大以及巴基斯坦与北京的军事合作日益加深的局面。

印度海军参谋长迪内什·特里帕蒂海军上将2月份表示，印度的目标是到2035年成为一支拥有200多艘舰艇的海军。目前，印度海军拥有145艘舰艇和潜艇。

该扩张计划包括根据与德国达成的价值约 80 亿美元的协议，购买六艘先进潜艇。

德国驻新德里大使贾斯珀·维克9月份表示，建造六艘下一代常规潜艇的拟议协议已由德方敲定。“就文件而言，协议已经最终敲定，德方也已同意。现在就看印方完成并最终敲定其内部程序了。”维克告诉记者。

拟议方案由德国TKMS造船厂与印度国有企业马扎冈船坞有限公司合作，在印度建造这些潜艇。这些潜艇将配备不依赖空气推进（AIP）技术，使其水下续航时间比传统柴电潜艇更长，特别适合在印太战略水域执行巡逻任务。

与此同时，10 月 29 日，一架阵风海军陆战队战斗机也首次降落在印度最新的航空母舰“维克兰特”号上，标志着航母兼容性试验取得成功。

此次审判发生在印度与法国签署价值约 75 亿美元的合同 18 个月后，该合同旨在购买 26 架阵风海军陆战队飞机，其中包括 22 架战斗机和 4 架教练机。

印度海军表示：“正在进行的试验标志着该型飞机在印度海军投入使用迈出了第一步。”

阵风战斗机已经从法国航空母舰上起飞，但它们与印度舰艇不同的起降安排的兼容性还需要测试。

法国的“阵风”战斗机将加入海军现有的俄罗斯米格-29K战斗机的行列，为海军的两艘航母带来现代化的多用途打击能力。