Indian Navy Exploring Homegrown Designs for Upcoming 200m Landing Platform Docks with 900 Troops Capacity

In a move to enhance its amphibious capabilities, the Indian Navy is embarking on a significant project to construct Landing Platform Docks (LPDs) domestically.

This initiative follows a Request for Information (RFI) released in 2021, which has garnered interest from prominent Indian shipyards, including Cochin Shipyards Ltd (CSL) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE).

Furthermore, L&T Shipbuilding and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) have also proposed designs based on collaborations with international Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

These envisioned LPDs will be veritable behemoths, each capable of carrying a crew of 540 sailors and accommodating up to 900 troops. Measuring approximately 200 meters in length and displacing up to 8 meters of water when fully loaded, these vessels are designed for both capacity and endurance.

The Navy desires a cruising speed of 14 to 16 knots, coupled with a remarkable range of 10,000 nautical miles at economical speed, facilitating extended deployments.

A hallmark of the LPDs will be their emphasis on electric propulsion. The RFI mandates an Integrated Full Electric Propulsion or Hybrid Propulsion system, reflecting the Navy’s commitment to modern, environmentally friendly, and efficient technologies.

Far from being passive carriers, these LPDs will pack a offensive punch. The Navy envisions them equipped with 32 Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missiles (VLSRSAM) for air defence and 16 anti-ship missiles for offensive capabilities.

Additionally, they will feature a Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) with electro-optical fire control, heavy machine guns with stabilized mounts, and medium machine guns. The possibility of incorporating directed energy weapons as a future replacement for CIWS further underscores their cutting-edge nature.

Situational awareness will be paramount, achieved through a comprehensive sensor suite that includes a combined air and surface surveillance radar, a 3D air surveillance radar, a surface surveillance radar, electronic warfare support systems, and an electro-optical/infrared search and track system.

A unique aspect of the design is the "through deck" configuration, essentially transforming these vessels into Landing Helicopter Docks (LHDs). This configuration enables seamless flight operations directly from the hangar to the landing deck.

The envisioned air complement is noteworthy, comprising at least two heavy lift helicopters, 12 special operations helicopters, and two Naval Ship-borne Unmanned Aerial Systems (NSUAS).

The design facilitates simultaneous operations of at least four special operations helicopters, with the potential for NSUAS integration. The hangar will house at least 12 special operations helicopters and two NSUAS, while the deck will provide space for two heavy lift helicopters with folded blades. The design prioritizes flexibility by enabling the operation of heavy lift helicopters from the reinforced forward deck area.

By choosing to build these LPDs domestically, the Indian Navy not only bolsters its amphibious warfare capabilities but also champions the growth of domestic shipbuilding expertise. This project serves as a testament to India's commitment to self-reliance in defence manufacturing and its ambition to become a leading player in the global maritime arena.

 

[Anant]

Unless we have a design ready to go, the wait time may be too long. Jalashwa is aging fast. She has already completed 17 years in Indian service, but has seen a grand total of 53 years of service already. She would have to be decommissioned by 2030-32.

Just an idea, but we could possibly go for 2 LHDs under the MRSV project (rather than 4), and then build 2-3 LPDs or LHDs to an indigenous design? The MRSV project would give us lessons on the design and construction of such ships, and would also give us sufficient time to get a good design going.

Oh, and please lose the AShMs or reduce their number to 8 and add in another 24-32 VL-SAM or other defensive systems. You really do not wany LPDs or LHDs directly engaging the enemy.

 

[kumar]

LPDs should be IDDM category.

 

[ramdas]

When we were able to design and construct the second AC, the outright purchase of LPD from a foreign country was demeaning

 

[Shrujanam Syama]

When we were able to design and construct the second AC, the outright purchase of LPD from a foreign country was demeaning

To be honest, that was a good deal as India got a ship along with couple choppers for $40 million which is a scrap price. If India scraps the ship, it is likely to get that much amount today.
It was not a useful ship because USA imposed conditions that it can only be used for peacetime patrol and not for wars! But in terms of value, I would say it was good.
Remember that to effectively use LPD, one must have major naval base overseas or major allies willing to share resources. It is not the case with India. So, for India, LPD is not really useful anyways. Jalashwa was just an experimental purchase

 

[Anant]

To be honest, that was a good deal as India got a ship along with couple choppers for $40 million which is a scrap price. If India scraps the ship, it is likely to get that much amount today.
It was not a useful ship because USA imposed conditions that it can only be used for peacetime patrol and not for wars! But in terms of value, I would say it was good.
Remember that to effectively use LPD, one must have major naval base overseas or major allies willing to share resources. It is not the case with India. So, for India, LPD is not really useful anyways. Jalashwa was just an experimental purchase

Jalashwa wasn't an experimental purchase. She was also not intended as a wartime asset when purchased. The reason we purchased Jalashwa stems from the 2004 tsunamis. The Navy had quickly put to sea to give aid, and both INS Magar and INS Gharial (the only two LSTs we had at the time) participated in these operations.

However, it was felt that these ships did not have sufficient capacity, and did not have any command facilities. Now, you need large ships to engage in such HADR operations, and these ships also need to be capable of operating close to shore. As a result, it was felt a LPD would be well-suited for such a role.

There wasn't the money available to buy a new LPD, and the only viable second-hand candidate was the Austin-class LPD. As a result, the Trenton was purchased for 78 million USD, and renamed Jalashwa. In fact, a second ship was also offered, but not purchased. As it was, the clause of not using the ship in war fitted in well with the intended role of Jalashwa, and the ship was very cheap.

LPDs are pretty useful in wars, however. They can act as a combination of a LST that carries helicopters and can act as amphibious force flagships. Moreover, they can also act very nicely in HADR roles. For India, we should ideally be looking at either 4 LHDs or 3 LHDs and 2 LPDs moving forwards. Jalashwa has been an excellent ship, but she is very old, having spent 17 years in Indian service and 53 years in service overall.

 

[Shrujanam Syama]

Jalashwa wasn't an experimental purchase. She was also not intended as a wartime asset when purchased. The reason we purchased Jalashwa stems from the 2004 tsunamis. The Navy had quickly put to sea to give aid, and both INS Magar and INS Gharial (the only two LSTs we had at the time) participated in these operations.

However, it was felt that these ships did not have sufficient capacity, and did not have any command facilities. Now, you need large ships to engage in such HADR operations, and these ships also need to be capable of operating close to shore. As a result, it was felt a LPD would be well-suited for such a role.

There wasn't the money available to buy a new LPD, and the only viable second-hand candidate was the Austin-class LPD. As a result, the Trenton was purchased for 78 million USD, and renamed Jalashwa. In fact, a second ship was also offered, but not purchased. As it was, the clause of not using the ship in war fitted in well with the intended role of Jalashwa, and the ship was very cheap.

LPDs are pretty useful in wars, however. They can act as a combination of a LST that carries helicopters and can act as amphibious force flagships. Moreover, they can also act very nicely in HADR roles. For India, we should ideally be looking at either 4 LHDs or 3 LHDs and 2 LPDs moving forwards. Jalashwa has been an excellent ship, but she is very old, having spent 17 years in Indian service and 53 years in service overall.

India did evacuation of its people from middle east using navy ships. LPDs are not really needed for such roles. LPDs are extremely simple in design with not much of sensors or advanced technology. The helicopter landing roles is not crucial as even coast guard OPVs can do that. OPVs can also be used in HADR operations. There was really no need for LPD. LPDs are specialised for landing on enemy shores carrying tanks, armoured vehicles etc. It has large flat surface to load up many vehicles for carrying. But HADR does not need large armour and carrying people can be done in any other large ships.

LPDs are useful in wars but as I said, it needs overseas bases and support. Merely carrying helicopters or tanks is useless as it can be easily destroyed by enemies without support. Considering LPDs have no advanced equipments, even ASW roles are not any better suited than coast guard OPVs as all the work will have to be done by helicopters while the LPD itself will just be a bystander.

So, considering how un-useful LPDs are compared to other options, Jalashwa was an experimental buy. Also, regarding age, it is not relevant as ship hulls are made to be very durable and are subject to regular maintenance. They can last pretty long. Since the ship is primitive in technology anyways, there is not much scope for getting obsolete either. So, no real need to replace Jalashwa. Just minor repairs to structure and engine overhaul is all it takes to keep it running

 

[desigandu]

Can we build 4 to 6 - 30000 ton LHDs with IEC, flat tops with future capability to house/ fly 6-12 F-35Bs, like the Japanese LHDs? Can these be delivered 1 per year starting 2030-2032???

 

[Apocalypse gupta]

Navy needs to develop an infantry force like the marines. A dedicated naval infantry force goes well with these LPDs for amphibious warfare. Right now it is the army which does amphibious fighting duties.

 

[Anant]

India did evacuation of its people from middle east using navy ships. LPDs are not really needed for such roles. LPDs are extremely simple in design with not much of sensors or advanced technology. The helicopter landing roles is not crucial as even coast guard OPVs can do that. OPVs can also be used in HADR operations. There was really no need for LPD. LPDs are specialised for landing on enemy shores carrying tanks, armoured vehicles etc. It has large flat surface to load up many vehicles for carrying. But HADR does not need large armour and carrying people can be done in any other large ships.

LPDs are useful in wars but as I said, it needs overseas bases and support. Merely carrying helicopters or tanks is useless as it can be easily destroyed by enemies without support. Considering LPDs have no advanced equipments, even ASW roles are not any better suited than coast guard OPVs as all the work will have to be done by helicopters while the LPD itself will just be a bystander.

So, considering how un-useful LPDs are compared to other options, Jalashwa was an experimental buy. Also, regarding age, it is not relevant as ship hulls are made to be very durable and are subject to regular maintenance. They can last pretty long. Since the ship is primitive in technology anyways, there is not much scope for getting obsolete either. So, no real need to replace Jalashwa. Just minor repairs to structure and engine overhaul is all it takes to keep it running

1. The reason we have not always sent Jalashwa to evacuate citizens from the Middle East is because Jalashwa has very little self-defence capability for an active war zone. Sending her there would have involved sending an escort along, and it was found that said escorting ships alone could conduct the evacuations. Oh, and by the way, Jalashwa was deployed to rescue Indians from Libya in 2011, so your point falls flat there.

2. LPDs carry armoured vehicles and the like, but they also carry large-ish numbers of helicopters, and can carry a lot of relief material. Both of those are crucial for HADR operations. Weight capacity can be utilised in more ways than one.

3. LPDs are fundamentally support ships. As a result, you need an active defensive escort for them in wartime. Think of them as multi-purpose cargo ships, or an analogue to fleet replenishment ships.

4. LPDs have no advanced equipment? Depends on how you define equipment as advanced or primitive, but LPDs carry a fair bit of equipment for what is halfway between a warship and an auxiliary ship.

5. Most work of the LPDs is done by helicopters in certain scenarios, just as most work of carriers is done by aircraft flying off them, and just as most work of submarines is done by the torpedoes and missiles fired from them. By that logic, should we just assume all warships are useless, since it is the shell or the missile or the torpedo that does work in a war?

6. Jalashwa is plenty useful for HADR operations, and as an amphibious force flagship for exercises. She might have been an experimental buy from that perspective, but she has proven to be useful in more ways than one.

7. Age is very much relevant for a ship. Ship hulls and machinery don't last forever, and there is a point after which keeping a ship in service requires either re-plating the hull, or essentially replacing the machinery, or both. For any ship, either of the aforementioned two requirements is almost always financially infeasible. The ship isn't primitive in technology; she is just old.

8. Jalashwa is approaching the point where her structural integrity will start to go down to dangerous levels in a few years, not to mention the fact that her steam turbines and boilers are slowly being worn out. You may not like it, but Jalashwa will need replacement towards the end of the decade or in the early parts of the next decade.

 

[Sandeep]

Navy needs to develop an infantry force like the marines. A dedicated naval infantry force goes well with these LPDs for amphibious warfare. Right now it is the army which does amphibious fighting duties.

No the navy use MARCO special forces for any mission off the ship

 

[Sandeep]

India needs these ships because they are very useful in carrying out a variety of missions ranging from humanitarian aid, sending medical or food supplies, carry out an armed mission in another country etc. But India should develop these platforms 100% indigenously as we have the capabilities to do it. Although these ships cost a lot they will be very useful for at least 40+ years and relied upon for many missions and roles.

 

[RG]

Learn from your own mistakes, desgin and build faster, rather than spend time in negotiation for years. India has build large ships, yes the first may not be cutting edge, but It has the design of what they operated and know what is needed. Move quickly

 

[beencensured]

Jalashwa wasn't an experimental purchase. She was also not intended as a wartime asset when purchased. The reason we purchased Jalashwa stems from the 2004 tsunamis. The Navy had quickly put to sea to give aid, and both INS Magar and INS Gharial (the only two LSTs we had at the time) participated in these operations.

Jalashwa has boilers that are old and dangerous. Jalashwa has killed over 8 naval Personnel.

 

[Apocalypse gupta]

No the navy use MARCO special forces for any mission off the ship

MARCOS is a special forces unit. Maybe few thousand soldiers in total. They are used for special operations.

US navy has the marines which is the naval infantry force which has around 2 lakh soldiers and they are used as a landing force, guarding naval bases, large scale amphibious operations etc.
The special forces of US Navy is called the Navy SEALS. You may have heard of them

 

[Anant]

Jalashwa has boilers that are old and dangerous. Jalashwa has killed over 8 naval Personnel.

The accident you are referring to had practically nothing to do with Jalashw's boilers. The problem was that during some maintenance, there was a leak of hydrogen sulphide, which was inhaled by the sailors who subsequently did not survive.

Really can't blame Jalashwa's boilers or machinery for that.

 

[Anant]

India needs these ships because they are very useful in carrying out a variety of missions ranging from humanitarian aid, sending medical or food supplies, carry out an armed mission in another country etc. But India should develop these platforms 100% indigenously as we have the capabilities to do it. Although these ships cost a lot they will be very useful for at least 40+ years and relied upon for many missions and roles.

Capability, sure. Time, maybe not so much so. Perhaps one idea might be to go with 2 LHDs under MRSV (rather than 4), and then eventually build 2-3 LHDs or LPDs indigenously? That would allow us to get a homegrown design, while giving us the time to get this good design going without causing us a capability gap.

 

[Anant]

MARCOS is a special forces unit. Maybe few thousand soldiers in total. They are used for special operations.

US navy has the marines which is the naval infantry force which has around 2 lakh soldiers and they are used as a landing force, guarding naval bases, large scale amphibious operations etc.
The special forces of US Navy is called the Navy SEALS. You may have heard of them

India doesn't need a dedicated Marines force of that size simply because we do not intend to go on amphibious assaults anytime soon. Our armed forces are still arrayed in a defensive manner, with the idea being trade interdiction and defence before offensives.

On the other hand, America, with their habit of poking their nose everywhere, needs the Marines. Yes, we should look at uprising the Marcos, or having a small shipborne Marine Corps, but not a dedicated service. We simply do not have the money for that.

 

[Anant]

Can we build 4 to 6 - 30000 ton LHDs with IEC, flat tops with future capability to house/ fly 6-12 F-35Bs, like the Japanese LHDs? Can these be delivered 1 per year starting 2030-2032???

Won't happen, Sir. We can build LHDs, sure. However, we don't have a design yet. Also, 6 LHDs would be too expensive, and too imbalancing on the force structure.

Let's say we did so, anyways. I would say that if we started work on a design today, and started using one of Vikrant's early designs (when she was the 30,000 ton Air Defence Vessel) as a baseline, we could probably start construction around 2028-29, lay down the keel on 2029-30, launch in 2032-33, and have the first ship in service by 2036-37. Subsequent ships would nominally follow at 18-24 month intervals.

 

[Sandeep]

MARCOS is a special forces unit. Maybe few thousand soldiers in total. They are used for special operations.

US navy has the marines which is the naval infantry force which has around 2 lakh soldiers and they are used as a landing force, guarding naval bases, large scale amphibious operations etc.
The special forces of US Navy is called the Navy SEALS. You may have heard of them

That’s because the USA uses the navy marines in any war as it’s always overseas in another part of the country. Its army is mainly used to defend its country and borders but their borders are mainly secured. They do use their army to defend other countries like with South Korea but in any offensive missions it’s the marines that strike. Sometimes they do get supported by army as well but marines are its main offensive arm.

India doesn’t really need a large amount of a marine force as we neither want to conduct any overseas wars in other countries. Our borders need to be secured with more army troops to defend it as there can be a threat from either Pakistan and China with border skirmishes.