Cochin Shipyard Lays Keel for Indian Navy’s First NGMV

The keel laying ceremony of the first Next Generation Missile Vessel (NGMV) for the Indian Navy was held on September 18, 2026. The milestone follows the steel-cutting ceremony for the second NGMV held earlier in September. Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) originally signed a ₹9,804 crore (over $1 billion) contract with the Ministry of Defence in March 2023 for the design and construction of six NGMVs. While steel cutting for the lead vessel began in December 2024, this keel-laying ceremony marks its official physical assembly on the slipway. The NGMV project represents a major strategic milestone for CSL, marking the shipyard’s maiden venture into building advanced, weapon-intensive combatants. CSL’s defense portfolio includes India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, alongside an ongoing series of eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC), with additional orders expected for Next Generation Survey Vessels. Combat Capabilities and Weaponry In a press release, CSL stated that the primary role of the NGMV would be to provide offensive capability against enemy warships, merchantmen and land targets. These ships will be capable of conducting Maritime Strike Operations, Anti Surface Warfare Operations and would be a potent instrument of sea denial for enemy ships especially at choke points. In the defensive role, these ships would be employed for Local Naval Defence operations and Seaward Defence of Offshore Development Area. NGMVs are waterjet propelled high-speed vessels with armament and sensors including the BrahMos Surface to Surface Missile system, VLSRSAM Anti-Missile Defence System, Bharat Electronics MFR Air Surveillance and Fire Control Radars. The ship will have a complement of total 80 personnel and have a maximum speed of 33 knots. Notably, images and models of the NGMV show two bow mounted inclined launchers for BrahMos, each with two missiles. The total count of four missiles is half of the requirement stated in a 2015 RFI for NGMVs. The models also show a 76 mm SRGM, stern mounted CIWS & fire control radar. Propulsion and Indigenous Supply Chain In April 2026, Kongsberg Maritime had signed a contract to supply 18 large Kamewa waterjets for the program. The three waterjets on each ship will be powered by a single GE Aerospace LM2500 gas turbine engine for which a contract was signed in October 2024. These will be assembled in India by HAL. In September 2024, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) had secured an order worth ₹850 crores (around $100 million) from CSL for supply of a DRDO developed X-band MFR for the program. MFR will have a range of about 200 km. NGMV: What’s next With the first delivery initially slated for early 2027, the NGMVs will become the largest waterjet-propelled craft in naval service, structurally positioned to replace the Indian Navy’s aging fleets of smaller corvettes. This includes the veteran Veer-class missile boats, some of which have recently undergone refits to swap obsolete P-15 anti-ship missiles for twin-tube BrahMos launchers. The induction continues a long-standing tradition for the Indian Navy, which has relied on fast missile attack craft since the 1970s—most famously demonstrated by Osa-class boats during Operation Trident and Operation Python against the port of Karachi in the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War.