Overview
- The Indian Navy formally commissioned INS Malvan on Wednesday, July 22, as the second Mahe‑class anti‑submarine warfare shallow‑water craft at Naval Base Karwar in a ceremony led by Air Chief Marshal A P Singh.
- Malvan is built by Cochin Shipyard Limited with over 80% indigenous content and is designed for shallow‑water subsurface surveillance, search‑and‑attack missions, coordinated operations with maritime aircraft, mine‑laying, and search‑and‑rescue.
- The vessel uses three diesel engines driving water‑jet (pump‑jet) propulsion for lower acoustic signature and high manoeuvrability and carries an ASW weapons and sensor fit that includes RBU‑6000 rockets, triple 324 mm lightweight torpedo tubes, lightweight torpedoes, torpedo‑decoy launchers, and hull‑mounted sonar.
- INS Malvan is part of a 16‑ship ASW‑SWC programme — eight Mahe‑class for the Western Fleet from CSL and eight Arnala‑class for the Eastern Fleet from GRSE — with final deliveries targeted by mid‑2028 to bolster coastal defence and protect sea lines of communication.
- Senior leaders used the ceremony to link the induction to faster naval modernisation, wider push for self‑reliant defence manufacturing and closer tri‑service integration, a move likely to raise patrol density in coastal waters and complicate adversary submarine operations in the Indian Ocean Region.