Hindustan Shipyard (HSL) to fit Indian-made electronics on warships under new manufacturing pact

New Delhi: Indian shipyards have long built the hulls of the country’s warships. Now the electronics that guide and connect them will also be made at home. Hindustan Shipyard Limited (HSL), a Miniratna defence public sector undertaking, and Cyient DLM have signed a strategic memorandum of understanding to jointly develop and manufacture navigation, communication and onboard electronics systems in India. Until now, most of these systems have been imported.

The agreement covers navigation and solid-state radars, Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS), autopilots, Global Maritime Distress and Safety Systems (GMDSS), Fleet Broadband, Voyage Data Recorders, weather systems and helicopter landing aids. In short, the systems that allow a ship to see, navigate, communicate and record its journey.

Rear Admiral C Raghuram, VSM (Retd.), Chairman and Managing Director of HSL, said, “Every ship that leaves our yard carries the pride of a nation. With this MoU, she will also carry Indian intelligence in her radars, Indian precision in her navigational aids and an Indian voice in her radios. This is Aatmanirbhar Bharat, sailing at full steam.”

HSL said deeper Indian content will go into every hull it delivers. Lead times are expected to fall, supply chains will become more secure, lifecycle costs lower and refits faster. The partnership is also expected to create fresh demand for Indian MSMEs and deep-tech firms working on specialised electronics.

The two companies will first identify priority systems and form joint design and test teams. These will then undergo Naval and Class qualification. Pilot installations will begin on selected platforms, starting with the 18 Next Generation Fast Patrol Vessels already on HSL’s order book.

Rajendra Velagapudi, Managing Director and CEO of Cyient DLM, described India’s maritime and defence sector as a “massive opportunity” and said the company was ready to build the indigenous technology and manufacturing capacity required.

The move fits a broader national push for self-reliance in defence. While India has steadily increased the share of locally built warships, critical electronics and sensors have remained a persistent import dependency. Replacing them with domestic systems is seen as a way to reduce vulnerability to external supply disruptions and to keep more value inside the country.

For HSL, based in Visakhapatnam, the agreement adds an electronics capability to its traditional strengths in shipbuilding and repair. For Cyient DLM, which specialises in high-reliability electronics manufacturing for aerospace and defence, it opens a structured route into naval platforms.