The Mangrol, the third Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft

Context: The Indian Navy received ‘Mangrol’, the third indigenously built Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) constructed by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) in Kochi.

About The Mangrol, the third Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft:

What It Is?

• Mangrol is the third vessel of the Mahe-class Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC). It is a compact, stealthy, and highly maneuverable littoral combat vessel designed specifically to track, detect, and neutralize subsurface threats in shallow coastal waters where larger warships face operational constraints.

Developed By:

• Builder: Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), Kochi, under an eight-ship contract with the Ministry of Defence.
• Indigenous Content: Built with over 80% indigenous systems and components.
• Legacy & Namesake: Named after the maritime fishing town and minor port of Mangrol in Junagadh district, Gujarat. It carries forward the legacy of the erstwhile INS Mangrol, a naval minesweeper decommissioned in 2004.

Aim: To provide dedicated, multi-role littoral combat power to conduct full-spectrum coastal anti-submarine operations, subsurface surveillance, mine warfare, and Low-Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO) across India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Key Characteristics:

• Waterjet (Pump-Jet) Propulsion: Powered by three marine diesel engines coupled to high-efficiency waterjets rather than conventional screw propellers. This ensures high maneuverability, rapid acceleration in shallow drafts, and significantly lowered radiated underwater acoustic noise to prevent sonar detection.
• Compact Littoral Dimensions: Measures 78 metres in length with a displacement of 896 to 1,100 tonnes, capable of reaching speeds up to 25 knots with a range of 1,800 nautical miles and an endurance of up to 14 days.
• Dedicated Sub-Hunting Weaponry: Fitted with a forward-mounted RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launcher, 324 mm lightweight torpedo tubes (for Advanced Light-Weight Torpedoes – ALWT), and advanced torpedo countermeasures.
• Advanced Sonar & Sensor Suite: Integrates indigenous DRDO-developed hull-mounted sonars (HMS), Low-Frequency Variable Depth Sonar (LFVDS), and an integrated combat management system optimized for detecting quiet conventional submarines in noisy shallow-water thermoclines.
• Surface Warfare & Asymmetric Defense: Equipped with a 30 mm naval surface gun and two 12.7 mm stabilized remote-controlled guns (SRCGs) for point defense against fast attack craft, unmanned surface vessels (USVs), and asymmetric aerial threats.