India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) will examine a major Indian Navy proposal on 26 October to acquire a new class of large destroyers estimated at around ₹75,000 crore. The ships, described in internal briefs as Next Generation Destroyers (NGDs), are intended to be roughly 13,000 tonnes and to carry a concentrated array of modern weapons systems while relying extensively on Indian industry for manufacture.
Project scope and timeline
Officials briefed to the file say the project is still at the conceptual stage. Detailed design work for the NGDs is likely to take about four–five years, after which formal procurement steps and contracting would follow if the DAC grants Acceptance of Necessity (AoN). The DAC meeting is chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and includes the Chief of Defence Staff, the three service chiefs, the defence secretary and the chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, among others.
Design priorities and indigenisation
Highly placed sources told reporters the Navy is planning with an outlook of “eight–ten years ahead” and is seeking a very high level of indigenous content across platforms and weapons. The NGDs are being described by some officials as “futuristic” and as significantly larger and more heavily armed than India’s existing destroyers.
“This kind of warship hasn’t been built before.” — highly placed sources
Sources used phrases such as “weapon dense” to convey the expected concentration of sensors, missiles and other combat systems envisaged for the class. The emphasis on localisation reportedly extends to weapons systems, including missiles, though the project remains in concept and no contract or supplier names have been announced.
Propulsion and technical challenges
Engine development has been identified in the brief as a historical challenge for large warships. For the NGDs, officials said a hybrid engine model is under consideration, reflecting a pragmatic approach in which a combination of different propulsion systems would be used depending on operational requirements.
- Estimated cost: ₹75,000 crore (proposal)
- Displacement: ~13,000 tonnes (planned)
- Design phase: detailed design likely to take 4–5 years
- Content focus: very high level of indigenous manufacturing, localisation of weapons systems
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Project name | Next Generation Destroyers (NGDs) |
| Estimated value | ₹75,000 crore |
| Planned displacement | 13,000 tonnes |
| Design timeline | 4–5 years (detailed design) |
If the DAC approves AoN for the NGD proposal, the procurement dossier would move on to the next stages of government approval, including consideration by higher-level committees such as the Cabinet Committee on Security, as per normal acquisition procedures. The project, if sanctioned, would be executed by Indian shipyards with a focus on Aatmanirbhar Bharat and localisation of major subsystems.
The NGD proposal arrives at a time when the Navy and shipbuilding industry are undertaking multiple modernisation projects and when indigenisation of platforms and weapons has been a stated policy objective for several years. The DAC decision on 26 October will determine whether the NGDs move from concept into the formal acquisition pipeline.
