India’s Mazagon Dock and Swan Defence Forge Joint LPD Programme for the Indian Navy

India’s Mazagon Dock and Swan Defence Forge Strategic Alliance to Build Amphibious LPDs for Indian Navy

Mohd Hanif Ismail - : Oct 31, 2025 - : 10:56 am

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In a significant development for Asia-Pacific naval capabilities, India’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) has entered into a teaming agreement with Swan Defence and Heavy Industries Ltd (SDHI) to jointly design and construct a new class of landing platform dock (LPD) vessels for the Indian Navy. The pact, signed on 28 October 2025 during the India Maritime Week 2025 in Mumbai, marks a pivotal step in India’s drive to boost indigenous amphibious warfare and humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HADR) capabilities.

According to the original report, the agreement sees MDL contributing its extensive experience in warship design, systems integration and project management, while Swan Defence will provide the country’s largest commercial ship-building infrastructure to realise the programme. The move comes shortly after India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) accorded approval in principle for the acquisition of several LPDs – a capability seen as central for both amphibious operations and regional HADR missions.

Background and Strategic Rationale

The Indian Navy has long pursued a dedicated LPD acquisition programme. Summary of the “Indian Navy amphibious vessel acquisition project” available online notes that the drive began in earnest after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami exposed India’s limited amphibious and large-scale transport capability. The programme has endured repeated delays, revisions and cancellations, but now appears to be gaining momentum via domestic shipbuilding collaboration.

Amphibious ships like LPDs serve multiple strategic roles: enabling force projection, supporting regional island nation disaster relief, and providing sea-based command, control, landing and logistics hubs. For India, as it seeks to bolster its maritime posture in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and extend its role as a regional HADR provider, this ship-building partnership offers both capability and industrial benefits.

Asia-Pacific Defence Industry Implications

From an industrial perspective, the MDL–Swan deal underscores India’s drive under the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” (self-reliant India) agenda to deepen public-private collaboration in defence manufacturing and shift more capability in-country. Swan Defence, formerly Pipavav Shipyard, boasts India’s largest private ship-building yard in Gujarat. This represents a sea change: India is not only acquiring advanced amphibious ships, but doing so through major structural upgrades to its ship-yard ecosystem and leveraging domestic capacity rather than relying entirely on imports.

Moreover, as China continues to expand its amphibious and expeditionary shipping capacity, India’s announcement adds another dimension to the regional maritime balance. Enhanced LPD capability will enable the Indian Navy to operate beyond its immediate littoral, support regional partners in HADR operations (for instance in Southeast Asia, the Maldives, or the Indian Ocean island states) and reinforce its role as a stabilising maritime actor in the Indo-Pacific.

Programme Next Steps and Outlook

While the teaming agreement has formalised the partnership, key questions remain on timeline, detailed vessel specifications, overall contract value and delivery schedule. Previous press reports suggest that the upcoming bid for four LPDs may be valued around ₹ 33,000 crore (approx. US $3.9 billion) for the full acquisition. The vessels are expected to displace in the region of 20,000 tons each, be capable of carrying helicopters, landing craft and possibly fixed-wing UAVs or tilt-rotors, to meet modern amphibious standards.