NE DEFENCE BUREAU
NEW DELHI, OCT 5
India’s defence self-reliance drive will hit two powerful milestones on Tuesday — from the precision manufacturing of its 2,000th aero-engine at HAL Koraput to the launch of a 43,500-tonne Fleet Support Ship at Visakhapatnam — underscoring the country’s accelerating push to design, build and sustain critical military platforms at home.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the milestone event marking the delivery of the 2,000th aero-engine manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Koraput Division, in Odisha on October 6.
- Defence Minister to mark delivery of HAL’s 2,000th aero-engine at Koraput on October 6
- ₹218-crore second Shakti engine production line to boost indigenous helicopter programmes
- FSS-1 launch, FSS-5 keel laying to reinforce Navy’s long-range operational reach
- Upgraded Hindustan Shipyard slipway and 300-tonne crane to handle vessels up to 45,000 DWT
The landmark will highlight nearly six decades of HAL Koraput’s contribution to India’s aerospace and defence manufacturing capabilities and the operational readiness of the Armed Forces.
At the same time, Singh will be at Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), Visakhapatnam, where he will launch Fleet Support Ship-1 (FSS-1), lay the keel of FSS-5, and inaugurate the upgraded Slipway-4 and 300-tonne Goliath Crane.
Together, the two events underline the widening industrial base behind India’s ambition to move beyond being a buyer of defence equipment to becoming a designer, developer and manufacturer of advanced defence systems.
2,000 engines and a new Shakti production line
The HAL Koraput milestone will also showcase the establishment of a second production line for Shakti engines, involving an investment of ₹218 crore.
The additional production capacity is expected to support the growing requirements of indigenous helicopter platforms, including the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter and Prachand Light Combat Helicopter.
The development assumes strategic significance because aero-engine technology lies at the heart of aerospace self-reliance, given the technological complexity and operational importance of propulsion systems.
The event will be attended by Mohan Charan Majhi, Chief Minister of Odisha; Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary (Defence Production); and Ravi K, CMD, HAL, among others.
Shipbuilding capacity gets a heavy-duty upgrade
At Visakhapatnam, the focus will shift from propulsion to naval shipbuilding.
The upgraded Slipway-4, with its extended length and enhanced load-bearing capability, together with the 300-tonne Goliath Crane, will enable Hindustan Shipyard to build and launch vessels of up to 45,000 DWT.
The infrastructure upgrade significantly expands the shipyard’s capacity to undertake larger and more complex platforms, strengthening the industrial infrastructure available for India’s naval ambitions.
FSS-1: 43,500 tonnes of endurance at sea
The launch of FSS-1, the first of five Fleet Support Ships being built for the Indian Navy, marks another significant milestone.
The vessel will enter the Bay of Bengal just 18 months after steel cutting, signalling a rapid pace of construction.
The 43,500-tonne Fleet Support Ships are designed to replenish warships at sea, thereby extending the Indian Navy’s endurance and operational reach across the Indian Ocean Region.
The keel laying of FSS-5 will simultaneously mark the Fleet Support Ship programme’s progression towards series production.
A wider industrial base for strategic autonomy
The twin events bring together two critical pillars of military capability — aerospace propulsion and naval shipbuilding.
While the 2,000th aero-engine milestone at Koraput reflects decades of accumulated manufacturing capability, the Shakti production-line expansion points towards higher indigenous capacity for future helicopter fleets.
Similarly, the upgraded shipyard infrastructure at Visakhapatnam is designed to enable larger vessels, while the Fleet Support Ship programme strengthens the Navy’s ability to sustain prolonged operations at sea.
The events will be attended by N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh; Admiral Krishna Swaminathan, Chief of the Naval Staff; and Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary (Defence Production), among others.
The combined milestones reinforce the government’s stated vision of transforming India’s defence industrial ecosystem from one centred on acquisition to one increasingly driven by domestic design, development, manufacturing and operational support.