The keel laying ceremony was held on 18 September 2026 at Cochin Shipyard Limited, marking the formal beginning of a key phase in the construction of the new generation of heavily armed missile vessels being built for the Indian Navy.
The development is significant because the F414 is intended to power the Tejas Mk2, while progress on the separate F404-IN20 engine supply is directly affecting the pace at which HAL can deliver the Tejas Mk1A. Although both engines are supplied by GE Aerospace, they belong to two different fighter programmes and serve different operational requirements.
The agreement was signed on 16 September 2026 in Bengaluru by Rajnish Sharma, Director, Bengaluru Complex, BEL, and Shai Cohen, Senior Vice President, Elbit Systems. Senior officials from both companies were present, including representatives responsible for electronic warfare, international marketing and Elbit’s DIRCM business.
An Active Protection System is designed to defend an armoured vehicle before an incoming weapon actually strikes its armour. Instead of relying exclusively on composite armour, explosive reactive armour or other passive protection, a hard-kill APS attempts to detect an incoming projectile, calculate its trajectory and physically intercept it at a safe distance from the vehicle.
The composition of the latest orders is particularly significant because it cuts across several areas that have become central to modern military operations. Electronic protection of aircraft, secure communications, electro-optical surveillance, radar electronics, cybersecurity and software-based processing are increasingly interconnected elements of contemporary combat systems.
The steel-cutting ceremony for the vessel was held at Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi on September 17, 2026, in the presence of senior officials from the Indian Navy and the shipyard. Rear Admiral Kapil Mehta, Assistant Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition, attended the ceremony as the chief guest.
Repeated measurements can generate extremely large collections of spatial coordinates known as point clouds. These can then be processed to construct detailed three-dimensional representations of terrain, buildings, vegetation, infrastructure and other physical features.
Bengaluru-based deep-tech startup Yaanendriya is targeting this technology gap by developing inertial sensors, positioning modules, navigation controllers and sensor-fusion systems in India for drones, robots, autonomous vehicles and defence platforms.
The company’s counter-UAS portfolio includes the ARJUNA passive RF detection system, GANDIVA multi-band RF jammer and TRISHUL family of portable anti-drone systems. DroneVerse says its technologies are being developed for the requirements of India’s defence forces and critical infrastructure, with an emphasis on indigenous technology and reduced dependence on foreign components.
According to the specifications displayed with the missile, BM-04 has an operational range extending from approximately 400 kilometres to 1,500 kilometres. It carries a 500-kg conventional warhead and has a launch weight of approximately 11,500 kg. The missile measures around 10.2 metres in length and 1.2 metres in diameter.
