Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will preside over a major milestone for India's indigenous warship-building programme on Tuesday, launching the Indian Navy's first home-grown Fleet Support Ship (FSS-1) into the waters of the Bay of Bengal at Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL) in Visakhapatnam.
The ship enters the water barely 18 months after its steel-cutting ceremony, a pace officials say signals India's growing ability to build large, complex naval platforms on schedule. The ceremony marks the first step of a programme that will deliver five replenishment vessels to the Navy under a Rs 19,000-crore contract with HSL.
What the ceremony includes
Alongside the launch of FSS-1, Singh will lay the keel of the fifth ship in the class, FSS-5, and inaugurate upgraded yard infrastructure — a modernised Slipway-4 and a 300-tonne Goliath Crane. The upgraded slipway, with its extended length and higher load-bearing capacity, will let HSL construct and launch vessels of up to 45,000 deadweight tonnes, expanding the yard's capacity for large defence platforms. Deliveries of the fleet support ships are scheduled to begin progressively from 2027.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Krishna Swaminathan and Defence Production Secretary Sanjeev Kumar are scheduled to attend.
Why fleet support ships matter
The 43,500-tonne FSS vessels act as floating logistics hubs, carrying fuel, ammunition, fresh water and dry provisions to replenish warships at sea. The capability allows carrier battle groups, destroyers and frigates to remain deployed for months without returning to port, extending the Indian Navy's endurance and operational reach across the Indian Ocean Region.
HSL officials said the keel-laying of FSS-5 signals a shift from single-ship construction toward series production, with the entire programme being executed in India using a high degree of indigenous content.
Sources:
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to launch Navy's FSS-1 at Vizag's HSL on October 6 — The Hindu
- Rajnath Singh to launch Navy's first Fleet Support Ship in Visakhapatnam on October 6 — DD India
- Defence Minister to launch FSS-1, lay keel of FSS-5 at HSL, Vizag — The Hans India
The ship enters the water barely 18 months after its steel-cutting ceremony, a pace officials say signals India's growing ability to build large, complex naval platforms on schedule. The ceremony marks the first step of a programme that will deliver five replenishment vessels to the Navy under a Rs 19,000-crore contract with HSL.
What the ceremony includes
Alongside the launch of FSS-1, Singh will lay the keel of the fifth ship in the class, FSS-5, and inaugurate upgraded yard infrastructure — a modernised Slipway-4 and a 300-tonne Goliath Crane. The upgraded slipway, with its extended length and higher load-bearing capacity, will let HSL construct and launch vessels of up to 45,000 deadweight tonnes, expanding the yard's capacity for large defence platforms. Deliveries of the fleet support ships are scheduled to begin progressively from 2027.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Krishna Swaminathan and Defence Production Secretary Sanjeev Kumar are scheduled to attend.
Why fleet support ships matter
The 43,500-tonne FSS vessels act as floating logistics hubs, carrying fuel, ammunition, fresh water and dry provisions to replenish warships at sea. The capability allows carrier battle groups, destroyers and frigates to remain deployed for months without returning to port, extending the Indian Navy's endurance and operational reach across the Indian Ocean Region.
HSL officials said the keel-laying of FSS-5 signals a shift from single-ship construction toward series production, with the entire programme being executed in India using a high degree of indigenous content.
Sources:
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to launch Navy's FSS-1 at Vizag's HSL on October 6 — The Hindu
- Rajnath Singh to launch Navy's first Fleet Support Ship in Visakhapatnam on October 6 — DD India
- Defence Minister to launch FSS-1, lay keel of FSS-5 at HSL, Vizag — The Hans India
