INS Samarthak joins Indian Navy as drone mothership and weapons testbed

New Delhi: The Indian Navy commissioned INS Samarthak at Karwar in Karnataka on Friday, adding a versatile vessel designed to test new weapons, support unmanned systems and undertake maritime surveillance. Built by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), the ship also marks an expansion of private-sector participation in naval shipbuilding, with more than 75 per cent indigenous content.

The vice-president, CP Radhakrishnan, commissioned the vessel at a ceremony attended by the chief of the naval staff, Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, and senior naval officers. Radhakrishnan said the induction demonstrated India’s growing industrial, technological and shipbuilding capabilities.

Samarthak combines routine operational duties with a specialized role in developing and evaluating naval technology. Its assignments include surveillance, patrol, target deployment for training and trials, and service as a mothership for unmanned and autonomous systems.

Swaminathan described it as the first major warship contracted to and constructed by a private shipyard to enter Indian naval service. He also said the Navy intended to use the experience gained from the vessel to improve construction quality, shorten shipbuilding schedules and accelerate the transition from prototypes to production.

Designed and built at L&T’s Kattupalli facility near Chennai, Samarthak was delivered to the Navy on August 27, as RNA Media had reported. Commissioning brings the vessel formally into service, following its construction, trials and acceptance.

The programme covers two multi-purpose vessels under a contract signed between the defence ministry and L&T on March 25, 2022. The second vessel, Utkarsh, was launched on January 13, 2025, at Kattupalli.

INS Samarthak: Specifications and capabilities

Published specifications put Samarthak’s length at approximately 107 metres, its beam at 18.6 metres and its displacement at about 3,750 tonnes. The vessel has a maximum speed of 15 knots, a reported operational range of 4,500 nautical miles and accommodation for 116 personnel, including eight officers.

Its principal contribution is the ability to support several different missions from a single platform, including the evaluation of indigenous weapons and sensors. L&T describes Samarthak as a specialized test and trials vessel, conceived, engineered and constructed in-house at its warship design centre and shipyard.

A dedicated trials vessel provides a platform for examining how equipment performs under actual conditions at sea before wider deployment. In practical terms, this can help developers assess reliability, identify integration problems and refine systems intended for operational warships.

Samarthak can also launch and recover targets used in naval training and weapons evaluation. Such facilities allow crews and technical teams to assess equipment against representative targets, while the vessel’s ability to operate unmanned autonomous vehicles supports the development of remotely operated and autonomous maritime capabilities.

The mothership role gives the Navy a platform from which to support unmanned-system operations at sea. The defence ministry’s commissioning brief explicitly identifies this function, alongside low-intensity maritime operations and maritime surveillance.

For precision manoeuvring, Samarthak is equipped with a dynamic positioning system, L&T said. Such a system helps a vessel maintain its position and heading, an important capability when conducting controlled trials or handling equipment over the side.

Its emergency-response duties include heavy towing, firefighting, salvage support and assistance to ships in distress. It can also help evacuate non-combatants, extending its utility beyond technology development and naval training.

For humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, the vessel can be configured to provide limited hospital facilities. The defence ministry also says its integrated combat suite brings together indigenous sensors, weapons and electronic systems, giving Samarthak an operational role alongside its testing and support responsibilities.