Defence ministry signs ₹1,070-cr deal for 14 coast guard fast patrol vessels

The vessels will play a critical role in enhancing fisheries protection and monitoring, control and surveillance, anti-smuggling operations

New Delhi: The defence ministry on Wednesday signed a ₹1,070-crore contract with Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) to boost the capabilities of the Indian Coast Guard with 14 fast patrol vessels (FPVs).

The 14 new fast patroll vessels will be indigenously designed, developed and manufactured by MDL and delivered to the coast guard in five years. (File photo)

“Along with several high-tech advanced features and equipment, the FPVs will be equipped with multipurpose drones, wirelessly controlled remote water rescue craft and AI capability, enabling greater flexibility and operational edge to the coast guard to face new age multidimensional challenges,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

The new vessels will be indigenously designed, developed and manufactured by MDL, and delivered to the coast guard in five years.

The vessels will play a critical role in enhancing fisheries protection and monitoring, control and surveillance, anti-smuggling operations, search and rescue missions, assistance to ships in distress, assistance and monitoring during marine pollution response operations, and anti-piracy operations, the statement said.

In line with the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, the contract will boost the nation’s indigenous shipbuilding capability, it added. “The project will generate employment opportunities and expertise development in the country.”

Self-reliance in defence is a top priority for the government.

Pursuing an ambitious agenda for achieving self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector, the defence ministry in April 2023 slapped an import ban on 98 weapons and systems including futuristic infantry combat vehicles, ship-borne unmanned aerial systems, medium-range precision kill systems, a variety of ammunition, radars, sensors, and equipment for fighter jets, maritime surveillance planes, warships, helicopters and tanks.

The fifth positive indigenisation list, released by defence minister Rajnath Singh in April, took the number of defence items placed under an import ban during the last three years to 509.

In May 2023, India announced that the value of defence production in the country had crossed ₹1 lakh crore for the first time on the back of key reforms to spur growth in the sector. The value of defence production by state-run companies and the private sector has almost doubled over the past five years that saw the government take a raft of measures to cut the country’s dependence on military imports and strengthen its position as an exporter of weapons and systems.