Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt. Ltd has been allotted 29.58 acres of land at the Juvvaladinne Fishing Harbour in Bogolu Mandal, SPSR Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh, for setting up the world’s first autonomous maritime shipyard and systems centre.
The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet’s decision marks a significant milestone in India’s drive to strengthen indigenous capabilities for both surface and subsurface maritime platforms, enhancing the nation’s future-ready technology ecosystem.
Capt. Nikunj Parashar, Founder & CMD, Mridul Babbar, Co-Founder & CFO, and Lakshay Dang, Co-Founder & CEO, came together to form Sagar Defence Engineering Pvt Ltd in 2015, which specialises in unmanned/autonomous systems for maritime, aerial, and land domains, supporting defence, commercial, and scientific sectors with surveillance, ISR, and logistics solutions. It aims to build a “Digital Ocean” through real-time data from autonomous platforms.
Transformative development
Sagar Defence described the upcoming centre as a transformative development at a time when global maritime industries are rapidly advancing toward robotics, artificial intelligence , unmanned systems, and sustainable operations. The facility is envisioned as a pioneering hub that will accelerate innovation, reshape industrial practices, and set new international benchmarks in autonomous maritime technology, the company said.
Beyond shipbuilding, the centre is expected to influence defence readiness, commercial shipping efficiency, environmental performance and the growth of a future-ready maritime workforce. By enabling engineers, researchers and industry partners to conduct real-time trials, it will shorten innovation cycles and reduce India’s reliance on foreign test facilities.
The integrated R&D and testing ecosystem is also poised to benefit sectors such as logistics, fisheries, disaster response, and port operations. A key component of the project is a dedicated Maritime Test Centre, designed to support end-to-end autonomous system research, development, prototyping, and validation, they pointed out.
Overall, the initiative aims to redefine how ships are conceived, built, operated, and sustained — ushering in a safer, smarter, more efficient, and more sustainable maritime era.
