Panaji: In a milestone for India’s defence manufacturing sector, Chowgule Shipyards on Thursday delivered the country’s first indigenously built Air Cushion Vehicle (ACV) to the Indian Coast Guard, marking the first time a private Indian shipyard has built and delivered a hovercraft for the military from the ground up.
The delivery is part of a Rs 387.4 crore contract awarded to the shipyard for six hovercrafts, with subsequent vessels to follow at three-month intervals, according to Chowgule Shipyard’s Rassaim facility assistant manager Gaurish Parab.
The craft has already demonstrated performance beyond its design specifications, clocking 52 knots during sea trials against a contractual requirement of 48 knots.
Built under a technology licence from Griffon Marine Ltd of the United Kingdom, a globally recognised name in hovercraft design since the 1960s, the hovercraft carries more than 50% indigenous equipment and will be maintained and serviced by Chowgule Shipyards for five years post-delivery.
It has a payload capacity of 8 tonnes, a maximum speed of 45 knots, a cruising speed of 35 knots, can carry up to 42 personnel and has an operational endurance of nine hours.
Designed for rapid deployment across shallow waters, mudflats, riverine environments and coastal areas, the hovercraft offers operational flexibility in terrain inaccessible to conventional vessels, making it well suited for coastal surveillance, search and rescue, maritime law enforcement and disaster response, said a coast guard official. The vessel will reportedly be stationed at Haldia, Bengal, where it will support operations across the riverine and deltaic regions of eastern India, including flood relief and humanitarian assistance missions.
The delivery distinguishes itself from earlier hovercraft in the Coast Guard fleet as the vessel represents a qualitatively different achievement, one where an Indian yard has absorbed advanced maritime technology, said an official.
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