Indian Navy’s Next-Gen Missile Vessel Programme Advances Indigenous Defence Push

The Indian Navy's Next Generation Missile Vessel (NGMV) programme has entered another important phase with the steel cutting of its second vessel at Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), Kochi, strengthening a naval modernisation programme that is also emerging as an important test of India's growing indigenous defence manufacturing capabilities.

The steel-cutting ceremony for Ship No. BY-532 was held on September 17, 2026, with Rear Admiral Kapil Mehta, Assistant Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition at Integrated Headquarters, Indian Navy, conducting the ceremony. Senior Navy and CSL officials, representatives of the Indian Register of Shipping and CSL personnel attended the event.

The milestone follows the steel cutting of the first NGMV, BY-531, on December 16, 2024. CSL signed the contract with the Ministry of Defence on March 30, 2023, for six NGMVs worth ₹9,805 crore, with delivery of the first vessel scheduled from March 2027.

The NGMVs are designed as high-speed, heavily armed and stealth-oriented platforms, with a maximum speed of about 33 knots, an approximate length of 85 metres, breadth of 12 metres and a crew of around 80 personnel. Their primary roles include maritime strike, anti-surface warfare and sea denial, besides local naval defence and protection of offshore development areas.

The vessels are planned to carry surface-to-surface missile systems, anti-missile defence systems, air-surveillance radars and fire-control radars, supported by integrated platform-management, propulsion, power-generation and damage-control systems.

A key feature of the programme is its indigenous content. The Ministry of Defence has stated that major role-defining equipment has been indigenously developed and manufactured, while the programme is expected to source most equipment and systems from Indian manufacturers. The initiative is aligned with Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India, encouraging participation from domestic shipbuilders and MSMEs.

The six-vessel programme is expected to generate about 45 lakh man-days of employment over nine years. CSL procurement records also show Indian suppliers participating in areas including battery chargers, system paints and electrically operated anchor and mooring capstans.

The NGMV programme forms part of India's wider naval indigenisation drive. Government data has indicated that 51 large ships worth about ₹90,000 crore were under construction in Indian shipyards, while nearly 67% of the Navy's capital acquisitions over the previous decade were sourced from Indian industry.

As BY-532 moves into fabrication, the programme underscores India's broader transition towards designing, manufacturing and integrating increasingly sophisticated naval combat platforms domestically.