Overview
- The Indian Navy formally commissioned INS Samarthak at Karwar on Friday, October 16, 2026, in a ceremony attended by Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Krishna Swaminathan and Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan.
- Samarthak is designed as a multi-role trials platform and mothership that can launch and recover surface and aerial targets and deploy autonomous and remotely controlled vehicles for weapons and sensor evaluation.
- The vessel measures about 106 metres, displaces roughly 3,750 tonnes, has a 16.8-metre beam, a top speed of about 15 knots, and features a Dynamic Positioning System for precise station-keeping during tests.
- Larsen & Toubro built the ship at its Kattupalli yard under a Rs 887 crore Defence Ministry contract signed in 2022, and the government says the MPV contains more than 75% indigenous content; its sister ship, INS Utkarsh, is now in sea trials.
- Beyond testing, Samarthak can carry out patrols, towing and salvage, disaster relief and be converted into a hospital ship, and its induction supports India’s drive to increase domestic defence production and speed at-sea validation of homegrown systems.