The Ministry of Defence has signed agreements valued at ₹53,866.50 crore with Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) and Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) for the construction of eight Next Generation Corvettes for the Indian Navy. The contracts were signed on 2 November 2026 at Kartavya Bhawan-2 in New Delhi in the presence of Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh.
The Cabinet Committee on Security had cleared the acquisition on 28 October 2026. The programme is the first in a planned sequence of next-generation Indian Navy surface-combatant projects. The Navy’s future plans identified in the announcement include Next Generation Frigates, designated Project 17 Bravo, and Next Generation Destroyers, designated Project 18.
Two shipyards to divide construction
GRSE will build five corvettes, while GSL will construct the remaining three. The allocation gives both public-sector shipbuilders a role in delivering the class and places the programme within the wider effort to expand India’s domestic warship-design and construction capability.
The Ministry of Defence said the project is expected to support employment across shipyards and the wider industrial network over the coming decade.
“The NGC project will provide a significant impetus to India’s indigenous shipbuilding ecosystem by strengthening collaboration among DPSUs, private shipyards and Indian industrial partners, including MSMEs. The construction of these ships is expected to generate approximately 72 lakh person-days of employment in the shipyards and 460 lakh person-days in ancillary industries and MSMEs over the next ten years.”
The employment estimate covers approximately 72 lakh person-days in the shipyards and 460 lakh person-days among ancillary industries and micro, small and medium enterprises. The Defence Ministry’s statement linked the expected work to closer cooperation between defence public-sector undertakings, private shipyards and Indian industrial partners.
Weapons and sensors specified for the class
The announced configuration places emphasis on air defence, anti-ship warfare and close-in protection. The corvettes are to carry the following systems:
- 16 Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missiles
- Eight Naval Anti-Ship Missile–Medium Range missiles
- A 76mm Oto-Melara SRGM as the main gun
- An AK-630 close-in weapon system
- A smaller version of the IAI MF-STAR radar for guiding the MRSAM
The planned vessels will measure 127.4 metres in length, have a beam of 17.6 metres and a displacement of 4,950 tonnes. The dimensions and displacement described for the design make it larger than the Talwar-class follow-on ships currently being built by GSL for the Indian Navy.
| Programme detail | Announced position |
|---|---|
| Total corvettes | Eight |
| GRSE allocation | Five ships |
| GSL allocation | Three ships |
| Contract value | ₹53,866.50 crore |
The Navy had first issued its Request for Information for the corvette programme in 2016, at that stage seeking seven hulls equipped with eight surface-to-surface missiles, vertically launched surface-to-air missiles and Towed Array SONAR. The acquisition cleared in October and contracted in November now covers eight ships, with the weapon and sensor fit described by the Defence Ministry forming part of the announced design.
