Indian Navy To Get Eight Anti-Submarine Ships From Cochin Shipyard In Next 7 Years Via Rs 6,311 Crore Deal

State owned Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) has signed a contract worth Rs 6,311.32 crore for the construction of eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASWSWCs) for the Indian Navy on Tuesday (30 April), reports The Hindu.

The yard which is also engaged in full-fledged building of India's first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, it had evolved as the lowest bidder for the project which has to be completed within 84 months.

The yard will be delivering the first ship within 42 months, post which every subsequent year the yard will be delivering two more ships until the contract comes to an end.

The vessels once deployed, will be capable of full-scale subsurface surveillance of coastal waters and coordinated ASW operations with aircraft. The vessels will also be capable of intercepting and destroying subsurface targets in coastal waters.

Also, the vessels will be equipped with sundry state-of-the-art systems which would allow it to lay mines on the seabed, while also carrying out search and rescue operations by day and night.

The Indian Navy had recently unveiled its plan to have over 200 ships, 500 aircraft units and 24 attack submarines. The contract to CSL for eight ASWSWCs complements the plan.