Mumbai: The Indian Navy will commission its first indigenous anti-submarine warfare shallow watercraft (ASW-SWC) Mahe on Monday at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai. The vessel is poised to script another milestone in its indigenous shipbuilding journey.
Mahe will be the first of the eight ASW-SWC built by Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), the contract for the same was awarded by the Ministry of Defence to CSL in April 2019. With the blend of firepower, stealth and mobility, the 78-metre-long warship is designed to hunt submarines, conduct coastal patrols and secure India’s vital maritime approaches.
The commissioning of Mahe will mark the arrival of a new generation of indigenous shallow-water combatants, which is sleek, swift, and resolutely Indian. With over 80% indigenous content, the Mahe-class showcases India’s growing mastery in warship design, construction and integration. It is named after the historic coastal town of Mahe on the Malabar Coast and its crest features an ‘Urumi’, the flexible sword of Kalaripayattu, symbolising agility, precision, and lethal grace.
The commissioning ceremony will be hosted by Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, flag officer commanding-in-chief of the Western Naval Command and will be presided over by General Upendra Dwivedi, chief of the army staff.
“She will serve as a ‘silent hunter’ on the western seaboard, powered by self-reliance and dedicated to safeguarding India’s maritime frontiers. It will represent the cutting edge of India’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative in naval ship design and construction. Compact yet powerful, the ship embodies agility, precision and endurance, the qualities vital for dominating the littorals,” said a spokesperson of the Indian Navy.
