Indian Navy To Acquire Advanced Unmanned Mine Counter-Measure Systems For Future Minesweepers

Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has entered into a partnership with Exail to deliver an advanced unmanned mine counter-measure (MCM) suite for the Indian Navy’s 12 Mine Counter-Measure Vessels, which will be built in the near future, as the country lacks a dedicated minesweeper.

The MCM suite will incorporate autonomous and remotely operated systems to detect, classify, identify and neutralise naval mines in a safe stand-off way, the company statement read.

L&T is the main contractor, which will provide the suite to the shipyards participating in the Navy’s program, while France-based Exail will be the technology partner.

This would enable Exail to deliver its mine warfare technology, which is operational in navies worldwide and has proven quite successful.

India’s last minesweeper was the Soviet-built Natya-class INS Kozhikode, decommissioned in 2019 without a replacement.

The importance of having minesweepers is evident from Iran’s mining of the Strait of Hormuz, which has put ships at risk.

In changing geopolitical times, having these vessels is a must to protect a country’s harbours and sea lines of communication during a conflict-like situation.

Naval mines, laid by enemies, can not only threaten ships but also put the lives of crew at risk and block ports and shipping routes, impacting the global economy.

The Indian Navy is presently dependent on Clip-on mine counter-measure suites mounted on a few ships to bridge this gap.

Given the country’s 7,516-kilometre-long coastline and more than 200 ports, the navy requires at least 24 MCMVs, according to a recent assessment.

In 2005, a program was initiated to construct a fleet of minesweepers in India by getting the technology from outside, but due to disputes over costs and build strategy, it could not be implemented.

It was in 2025 that the Indian Navy brought a new proposal to acquire 12 MCMVs at a cost of around Rs 45,000 crore, and a request for information (RFI) was issued.

Per estimates, it will take around 7 years for the first ship to be built once the contract is signed.

Former Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash had expressed operational risks from the absence of minesweepers, highlighting how the navy had acquired British-origin ones in the 1950s, followed by Soviet ones.