Arnala-class

The Arnala class is a group of anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft (ASW-SWC) built for the Indian Navy by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) in partnership with Larsen & Toubro's Kattupalli Shipyard. Eight ships were ordered under a ₹6,311 crore contract signed with the Ministry of Defence on 29 April 2019, following a December 2013 Defence Acquisition Council approval for sixteen shallow-water ASW vessels to replace the Abhay-class corvettes commissioned between 1989 and 1991. A parallel contract of the same value went to Cochin Shipyard for eight ships of the related Mahe class. The Arnala class is assigned to the Eastern Fleet.

The corvettes were designed in-house by GRSE and built to Indian Register of Shipping rules, using low-magnetic steel supplied by SAIL from its Bokaro, Bhilai and Rourkela plants. Propulsion consists of three MTU 20V 4000 M93L diesel engines rated at 6 MW driving three L&T waterjets, making the class among the largest waterjet-propelled ships in the Indian Navy. The hull and superstructure incorporate a reduced radar cross-section and low acoustic and infrared signatures; GRSE received the Raksha Mantri Award 2022 for the design of the Indian Navy's "most silent ship". Indigenous content exceeds 88 per cent, with equipment from Bharat Electronics, Mahindra Defence and Larsen & Toubro.

Anti-submarine armament comprises a forward-mounted RBU-6000 rocket launcher, two triple 324 mm tubes for the Advanced Light-Weight Torpedo (ALWT), and mine-laying rails. Two Mahindra Defence Systems torpedo decoy launchers form part of the Integrated Anti-Submarine Warfare Defence Suite. Gun armament consists of a 30 mm Naval Surface Gun and two OFT 12.7 mm M2 Stabilized Remote Controlled Guns, the Indian variant of the Elbit Systems Remote Controlled Naval Weapon Station. The sensor fit includes the Abhay compact hull-mounted active sonar, developed by DRDO's Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory and manufactured by Bharat Electronics, a towed low-frequency variable-depth sonar from the joint venture between CFF Fluid Control and Atlas Elektronik, and an underwater acoustic communication system. The ships also carry two navigation radars, R-ESM and C-ESM electronic warfare equipment, SATCOM, a combat management system, an integrated bridge system, and a BEL/DRDO integrated ASW complex computing fire-control solutions for torpedoes and rockets.

The corvettes are intended for operations within 200 nmi of the coastline, performing search-and-attack unit missions, low-intensity maritime operations, subsurface surveillance and coordinated ASW with maritime patrol aircraft, with secondary roles in mine-laying and search and rescue.

INS Arnala, named after Arnala fort, was launched on 20 December 2022, delivered on 8 May 2025 and commissioned on 18 June 2025, homeported at Visakhapatnam. Androth was delivered on 13 September 2025 and commissioned at Visakhapatnam on 6 October 2025. Anjadip was delivered on 22 December 2025 and commissioned on 27 February 2026. Agray was delivered on 30 March 2026 alongside INS Dunagiri and INS Sanshodhak, the three being commissioned together at Kolkata on 21 June 2026. Ajay, the last hull of the GRSE batch, was launched on 21 July 2025. Amini, Abhay and Akshay remain in fitting-out.