Rajnath Singh to Oversee Naval, Aviation Defence Milestones in AP, Odisha

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is set to oversee two major milestones in India’s indigenous defence manufacturing drive on Tuesday, with programmes in Visakhapatnam and Odisha’s Sunabeda focusing on strengthening the country’s naval shipbuilding and military aviation capabilities.

At Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) in Visakhapatnam, Singh will launch Fleet Support Ship-1 (FSS-1), the first of five such vessels being built for the Indian Navy. He will also lay the keel for FSS-5 and inaugurate an upgraded Slipway-4 and a 300-tonne Goliath crane, expanding HSL’s ability to undertake large-scale shipbuilding projects.

The upgraded facilities are expected to enable the shipyard to construct and launch vessels of up to 45,000 deadweight tonnes (DWT). The infrastructure expansion is being viewed as an important step towards enhancing India’s domestic capacity to build large naval platforms.

FSS-1, with a capacity of around 43,500 tonnes, is designed to provide fuel, supplies and other essential materials to naval warships during prolonged deployments at sea. Officials said the vessel is expected to enter the Bay of Bengal within 18 months of the commencement of steel cutting. The fleet support ships are expected to strengthen the Navy’s ability to sustain long-duration operations across the Indian Ocean Region. The keel-laying for FSS-5 will also move the programme closer to series production.

Singh will subsequently travel to Sunabeda in Odisha’s Koraput district, where he is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for new facilities associated with the Shakti engine programme at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The Shakti programme is a joint Indo-French initiative between HAL and Safran Helicopter Engines for the manufacture of the Safran Ardiden 1H1 turboshaft engine for India’s military requirements. The proposed facilities are expected to strengthen the country’s aero-engine manufacturing capabilities and reduce dependence on imports.

HAL’s Koraput division has played a key role in India’s military engine ecosystem for decades, undertaking engine manufacturing, overhaul and maintenance. The Sunabeda facility is also associated with the manufacture and overhaul of engines used in the Sukhoi-30MKI fleet.

The twin engagements highlight the government’s broader push to expand indigenous defence production, covering critical capabilities ranging from naval logistics and shipbuilding to military engine technology.