Navy to commission first of eight Mahe-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft in Mumbai

NEW DELHI: Amid Pakistans plans to augment its underwater combat capabilities, the Indian Navy is set to commission Mahe, the first of the Mahe-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC), at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai on Monday. The ceremony will be presided over by General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Army Staff. In a statement, the Indian Navy said, The commissioning of Mahe will mark the arrival of a new generation of indigenous shallow-water combatants sleek, swift, and resolutely Indian. She will serve as a Silent Hunter on the Western Seaboard powered by self-reliance and dedicated to safeguarding Indias maritime frontiers, the Navy added. With over 80 per cent indigenous content, the Mahe-class showcases Indias growing mastery in warship design, construction, and integration. Built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), Kochi, Mahe represents the cutting edge of Indias Atma Nirbhar Bharat initiative in naval ship design and construction. Compact yet powerful, the ship embodies agility, precision, and endurance qualities vital for dominating the littorals. Designed with a blend of firepower, stealth, and mobility, the ship will undertake submarine-hunting missions, coastal patrols, and the protection of Indias vital maritime approaches. Named after the historic coastal town of Mahe on the Malabar Coast, the ships crest features an Urumi, the flexible sword used in Kalaripayattu, symbolising agility, precision, and lethal grace. The ships being manufactured at CSL are part of the Navys larger plan to upgrade its anti-submarine warfare capability. The Mahe-class ships will be equipped with indigenously developed, state-of-the-art underwater sensors. They are envisaged to undertake anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, as well as low-intensity maritime operations and mine-laying tasks. The ASW-SWC ships are 78 m long and the displacement is approximately 900 tonnes. They can achieve a maximum speed of 25 knots with an endurance of up to 1,800 nautical miles, the Navy said. Two contracts for sixteen Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft ships eight each to be built by CSL, Kochi, and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata were signed in April 2019. Given Indias vast 7,516.6-kilometre coastline with twelve major ports, 184 minor ports, and 1,197 island territories, coastal surveillance for anti-submarine warfare operations is considered critical. The induction of these specialised ships, featuring a lower draught, is expected to significantly enhance the Indian Navys shallow-water ASW capability, with improved performance of weapons, sensors, hull-mounted sonar, and towed sonar systems. The Mahe-class ASW Shallow Water Craft have been named after ports of strategic importance along Indias coastline, and will carry forward the legacy of the erstwhile minesweepers that bore the same names. Chinas role in Pakistans underwater capability build-up China continues to be Pakistans largest arms supplier, with the ongoing Hangor-class submarine project being the latest example. Under the programme, eight new submarines are scheduled for induction into the Pakistan Navy, with the first likely to be commissioned in the first half of 2026. Three of these have already been launched by Chinese manufacturers. Significantly, all these submarines will be equipped with air-independent propulsion (AIP) technology, which allegedly enhances the submerged endurance of submarines several-fold. An AIP system allows a submarine to remain underwater, away from enemy sensors, for extended periods without surfacing. None of Indias submarines currently possess AIP technology.