Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) has entered into an exclusive Teaming Agreement (TA) with Swan Defence and Heavy Industries Ltd (formerly Reliance Naval Engineering Ltd, which operated the Pipavav Shipyard in Gujarat) to jointly design and construct Landing Platform Docks (LPDs) for the Indian Navy.
The agreement was signed by Biju George, Director (Shipbuilding), MDL, and Vivek Merchant, Director, Swan Defence, during the ongoing India Maritime Week 2025 in Mumbai on Tuesday. MDL, India’s premier defence shipyard under the Ministry of Defence, brings decades of shipbuilding expertise, while Swan Defence contributes extensive infrastructure and fabrication capabilities as the country’s largest shipbuilding and heavy engineering company.
The collaboration follows the Defence Acquisition Council’s approval last week for procuring LPDs — a critical addition to the Navy’s amphibious warfare and humanitarian mission capabilities — at an estimated cost of ₹33,000 crore.
Under the agreement, MDL will lead on ship design, project management, and system integration, while Swan Defence will provide its world-class shipbuilding facilities, including the country’s largest graving dry dock. The partnership seeks to combine MDL’s legacy and technical prowess with Swan Defence’s infrastructure and financial strength to deliver an optimal, indigenous solution for the Indian Navy.
“This exclusive partnership is a public–private collaboration aligned with the Centre’s vision of synergy between public and private sectors,” said Biju George. “It’s truly a marriage of capacity and capability — Swan Defence brings unmatched infrastructure, while MDL contributes its long-standing shipbuilding experience.”
He added that the project would feature a high degree of localisation, in line with India’s growing industrial capabilities. “For our current frigate programme, localisation stands at around 75%. We expect similar or higher levels for the LPDs as domestic ancillary industries continue to mature and foreign OEMs set up operations in India,” George noted.
Expressing enthusiasm about the partnership, Vivek Merchant of Swan Defence said, “We are proud to collaborate with MDL on this prestigious national programme. Together, we aim to deliver technologically advanced and globally competitive platforms that will strengthen the Indian Navy’s blue-water capabilities. This agreement also reaffirms our commitment to Atmanirbhar Bharat and to positioning India as a global shipbuilding hub.”
The MDL–Swan Defence collaboration marks a major milestone in India’s journey toward naval self-reliance and capability enhancement in the maritime domain.
