Ministry of Defence has signed a contract on Friday with M/s Larsen and Toubro Limited for the acquisition of two multi-purpose vessels (MPVs) for the Indian Navy at an overall cost of Rs 887 crore under 'Buy-Indian' category.
The contract was signed in the presence of Vice-Admiral Satish Namdeo Ghormade, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff and Pankaj Agarwal, Additional Secretary and Director General Acquisition. Delivery of vessels is scheduled to commence from May 2025, informed an official statement by the Ministry of Defence.
MPVs will be the first of its kind platform, constructed to provide a cost-effective solution to meet a variety of requirements of the Indian Navy. These vessels, to be built by M/s 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 a trial platform for naval weapons and sensors under development, support platform for ISV & salvage operations, and 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 "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" 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.
( With inputs from ANI )
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