Second NGMV steel cutting for the Indian Navy took place on Thursday at Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi, marking the start of construction on the second of six Next Generation Missile Vessels the yard is building for the service. Rear Adm Kapil Mehta, NM, Assistant Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition, presided as chief guest over the ceremony for the vessel, yard number BY 532, according to a release from the Ministry of Defence.

Dr Harikrishnan S, Director (Operations) at Cochin Shipyard, was also present at the function, and senior officials from the Indian Navy and the shipyard attended.

A contract signed in March 2023

The Navy concluded its contract for six NGMVs with Cochin Shipyard in March 2023. Steel cutting on the class's first ship was held at the yard in December 2024, so Thursday's ceremony brings a second hull into active construction close to two years after that.

What the NGMVs are built to carry

The ships are planned to carry state of the art weapons and sensors meant to enhance the Navy's combat capabilities as what the release called a Future Ready and Combat Ready force. The role defining equipment, the release said, has been indigenously developed and manufactured, in line with the government's Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Make in India and Make for the World initiatives.

The specs behind the programme

Public programme details describe the class as anti surface warfare vessels of about 1,437 tonnes.

A General Electric LM2500 gas turbine, assembled by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bengaluru, is expected to power each ship, with induction into the Navy planned to begin from 2027, roughly two years after Thursday's steel cutting for the second hull got underway at the Kochi yard.

Second NGMV steel cutting follows CSL's wider naval order book

The NGMV programme adds to a production line at Cochin Shipyard that already includes the Mahe class anti submarine warfare shallow water craft. The yard delivered Mangrol in August and commissioned INS Malvan at Karwar the month before.

A shipyard building strength across classes

Cochin Shipyard reinforces its position as one of the Navy's principal indigenous warship builders with each new keel and plate cut on its yard floor. The construction of these ships, the release said, reinforces India's commitment to building a strong and modern Navy, one capable of operating across the complex maritime environment of the wider Indian Ocean Region.

The Navy and Cochin Shipyard did not release a construction timeline specific to the second NGMV hull at Thursday's ceremony. Delivery dates for individual ships within the 2027 induction window remain unstated.