Kautilya

The roots of Ghatak go back to the older AURA concept—short for Autonomous Unmanned Research Aircraft—which emerged as India’s attempt to build a stealthy strike UCAV rather than just a surveillance drone. A 2016 Lok Sabha reply the Ministry of Defence stated that a proposal for the UCAV “Ghatak” programme and the development of a gas turbine engine for it had been submitted through official channels after review by a high-power committee chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser.

One of the more important industrial signals in the delivery is the improvement in build timelines. Dunagiri is the fifth Project 17A ship delivered to the Navy in the last 16 months, and the programme appears to be gaining construction efficiency as experience accumulates.

Designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and built by GRSE to Indian Register of Shipping classification rules, Sanshodhak is meant for full-scale coastal and deep-water hydrographic surveys, including surveys of harbour approaches, port channels and navigational routes. Its mission profile also extends beyond navigation support, since the vessel is intended to collect scientific and geophysical data that can be used for both defence and civilian applications.

By naming Swayam Raksha Kavach in the 2025 contract, the MoD signalled that the newest Tejas standard is being defined as a more modern indigenous combat-systems stack.

Designed and constructed by GRSE in accordance with the Classification Rules of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS), the ASW SWC class is intended to strengthen the Navy’s capability to operate in shallow coastal waters against underwater threats. The delivery of Agray adds further momentum to India’s efforts to expand domestically built frontline and support naval platforms under the broader push for defence self-reliance.