First Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC)

First Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC): Recently, the Indian Navy announced its plans to commission ‘INS Arnala’—the first Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC)—at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam.

• About INS Arnala: first of 16 vessels under the ASW-SWC project.

o Designed and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata in collaboration with: L&T Shipbuilding

o Named after: Arnala Fort, off the Vasai coast in Maharashtra. Just like the fort once defended India's western coastline, INS Arnala is built to strengthen India's maritime defence and submarine detection capabilities.

o Features : Measuring 77 metres in length ,displacing over 1490 tonnes, and  the largest Indian warship to be powered by a diesel engine-waterjet combination.

o Operational Roles: Subsurface Surveillance , Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), Search and Rescue (SAR) Missions and Low-Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO)

• About ASW-SWC: Compact vessels propelled by waterjet, capable of speeds up to 25 knots, offering high agility and rapid tactical response.

o Equipped with an advanced anti-submarine warfare suite, including lightweight torpedoes, ASW rockets, and mines, making them effective for coastal defence.

o Fitted with Hull-Mounted Sonar and Low-Frequency Variable Depth Sonar systems for extensive underwater surveillance and improved detection.