Amini is the fifth vessel
delivered under GRSE’s eight-ship Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft
(ASW SWC) programme. Rear Admiral GautamMarwaha, Chief Staff Officer
(Technical) at Headquarters Eastern Naval Command, accepted the vessel. The
delivery brings GRSE’s cumulative warship construction tally to 119, including
81 vessels supplied to the Indian Navy.
The Ministry of Defence said Amini is equipped with lightweight
torpedoes, indigenous rocket launchers and sonars to detect and engage underwater
threats. Its intended roles also include coastal surveillance and
mine-laying. The vessel belongs to a
series described by the ministry as among the Indian Navy’s largest
waterjet-propelled warships. GRSE designed and constructed the ships in accordance
with the classification rules of the Indian Register of Shipping. The ministry reported indigenous content
exceeding 80%, reflecting the contribution of domestic design, manufacturing
and equipment supply to the programme.
The craft is designed for subsurface surveillance, search and attack
missions in coastal waters. It can also undertake coordinated anti-submarine
operations alongside aircraft, extending its role beyond independent
patrols.The Ministry of Defence signed the contract for eight ASW shallow-water
craft with GRSE on 29 April 2019. The Arnala-class vessels were conceived to
replace the Navy’s Abhay-class anti-submarine corvettes and support operations
in coastal waters. At Amini’s launch
in November 2023, the ministry described the class as approximately 77 metres
long, with a displacement of 900 tonnes, a maximum speed of 25 knots and
endurance of around 1,800 nautical miles.
Alongside anti-submarine warfare, the programme provides for
low-intensity maritime operations and mine-laying. These defined roles place
the ships within the Navy’s coastal and shallow-water operating
requirements. Aminiwas launched on 16
November 2023 at Larsen & Toubro’s Kattupalli shipyard. The programme’s
construction arrangement divided work between GRSE’s Kolkata facilities and the
Kattupalli yard. Under the build
strategy announced by the ministry, four vessels were to be constructed at
GRSE, while hull construction and part-outfitting work for the remaining four
were subcontracted to Larsen & Toubro Shipbuilding. The arrangement illustrates how the
programme combines the lead defence shipyard’s responsibilities with
construction capacity at another Indian yard. With Amini now delivered, five of
GRSE’s eight contracted vessels have reached the handover stage. The vessel takes its name from Amini
Island in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. It also carries forward the name
of the former INS Amini, a Petya III-class anti-submarine warfare corvette
decommissioned in 2002. The latest
handover continues that naval naming tradition while introducing a domestically
built platform for similar underwater-security responsibilities. The
government’s announcement records delivery to the Navy; it does not announce a
commissioning date.
For GRSE, the handover follows the delivery of Dunagiri, Sanshodhak and Agray on 30 March 2026, when the shipyard supplied three naval platforms on the same day. Amini adds to that year’s deliveries and advances the remaining shallow-water craft programme.