Indian Navy's Power Boost: Bharat Forge Inks 425 Crore Deal for Indigenous Marine Generators

The Ministry of Defence has signed a ₹425 crore contract with Bharat Forge for 12 Marine Gas Turbine Generator sets for the Indian Navy’s Kolkata-class ships. Under ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, the deal marks Bharat Forge’s entry into marine gas turbines and aims to boost indigenous capability and enhance naval operational readiness.

The Ministry of Defence and Pune-based Bharat Forge Limited on Friday inked a ₹425 crore contract for the procurement of 12 sets of Marine Gas Turbine Generators for the Indian Navy.

These marine gas turbine generators will be equipped on board Kolkata-class ships. The contract will be executed over a period of 5 years. Rated at 1.25 MW, the new marine gas turbine generators will replace the lower capacity units currently in service onboard.

Major step in Aatmanirbhar Bharat

Awarded under the Buy (Indian) category of the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 (DAP-2020), the company said that the contract marks its entry into the marine gas turbine (GT) business and “will deliver the first indigenous GT-based power plant to operate aboard Indian Naval ships.” 

“The project reinforces the Government’s commitment to Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make-in-India by creating a robust domestic manufacturing ecosystem,” the ministry said.

“It would enhance maritime self-reliance in critical strategic technologies and bolster the Indian Navy’s operational readiness through indigenous production & end-to-end life-cycle support.”

The contract marks a significant step towards establishing indigenous capability to manufacture marine gas turbine generators.

Key Upgrade To Boost Power Systems Of Kolkata-Class Warships

The generator serves as a backbone of modern naval combatants for power generation applications that power critical combat systems and advanced weapons and sensors.

The Kolkata-class destroyers – INS Kolkata, INS Kochi, and INS Chennai – are equipped with some of the most advanced weapons and sensor systems in the Indian Navy’s inventory, including the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile system, Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles, and a host of anti-submarine warfare capabilities. 

Ensuring reliable, high-capacity onboard power generation is essential to sustaining the operational performance of these platforms.