India launches INS Androth as anti-submarine frigate to tighten undersea defenses.

The Indian Navy commissioned INS Androth, its second Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft, at Visakhapatnam on October 6, 2025. The indigenous vessel strengthens India’s coastal defense and marks another step toward self-reliance under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

The Press Information Bureau of India’s Ministry of Defence on October 6, 2025, announced that the Indian Navy has commissioned INS Androth, the second Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft, during a ceremony at Naval Dockyard Visakhapatnam presided over by Eastern Naval Command chief Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar. The 77-meter vessel displaces roughly 1,500 tonnes and is powered by three marine diesels driving waterjets, a propulsion choice that favors tight maneuvers and sprint speed in confined waters. New Delhi stresses the platform’s more than 80 percent indigenous content as a tangible proof point of Aatmanirbhar Bharat in naval shipbuilding and mission systems.
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INS Androth, the Indian Navy’s new 77-meter shallow-water anti-submarine warfare vessel, features waterjet propulsion for high maneuverability, a DRDO-designed sonar suite, RBU-6000 rocket launchers, 324 mm lightweight torpedoes, and mine-laying capability (Picture source: Indian Navy).

Androth belongs to a 16-ship shallow water anti-submarine program split between Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers in Kolkata and Cochin Shipyard, a dual yard strategy intended to accelerate deliveries and localize the supply chain after contracts signed in April 2019. The class sits at the intersection of patrol craft and light corvette, optimized to stalk, classify and engage diesel electric submarines, midget subs and unmanned undersea vehicles inside India’s busy near shore approaches. With the first of class INS Arnala entering service in June, the Navy is now building a cadence that will populate both eastern and western seaboards with dedicated littoral sub hunters.

The platform’s waterjet arrangement minimizes acoustic and magnetic signatures while giving the helmsman immediate throttle response for barrier patrols, datum prosecution and quick repositioning around choke points. Open source data on the class indicates a top speed around 25 knots and an endurance profile suited to persistent coastal picket duty, with hull dimensions of roughly 77.6 meters in length and a beam near 10.5 meters. These attributes, combined with modern machinery control, allow Androth to remain on station for extended periods without sacrificing dash performance when contact is gained.

The weapons and sensors suite aligns with the mission: class fit includes a forward RBU 6000 rocket depth charge launcher for rapid pattern attacks, twin triple 324 mm lightweight torpedo tubes expected to fire India’s Advanced Lightweight Torpedo, and mine rails to seed anti-submarine minefields as required by coastal defense plans. The sensor stack pairs a compact hull-mounted sonar, reportedly the DRDO-designed Abhay, with a towed low-frequency variable-depth sonar for improved detection in complex littoral layers. An electro-optical fire control package stabilizes the 30 mm gun for point defense while integrated decoy systems add torpedo survivability.

Androth gives fleet commanders a purpose-built tool for layered defense of ports, approach channels and energy terminals. The ship can sit quietly on a barrier, conduct active short pulse searches in cluttered water, or sprint to prosecute a datum generated by maritime patrol aircraft and shore-based arrays. The Navy also flags secondary roles of maritime surveillance, search and rescue, coastal security and low-intensity maritime operations, extending the platform’s utility during peacetime and crisis response.

India is hardening its littoral against the steady normalization of extra-regional submarine presence in the Indian Ocean and the risk of covert insertion near critical infrastructure. By fielding an indigenous, numerous-class dedicated to coastal ASW, New Delhi reduces opportunity space for adversary undersea operations while freeing high-value destroyers and frigates for blue water tasks. The commissioning pace from Arnala to Androth underscores a procurement model that blends industrial policy with operational urgency, a trend likely to influence future patrol and mine countermeasure programs as the Navy seeks mass and resilience across both coasts.