A significant milestone towards enhancing Indian Navy’s underwater capabilities has been achieved with the inauguration of ‘Setting to Work Phase (STW)-2’ activity of the Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system Energy Module developed indigenously by Naval Materials Research Laboratory, DRDO. The AIP system boosts the underwater endurance of the diesel-electric submarines by reducing its dependence on atmospheric oxygen.
The inauguration ceremony took place at Larsen and Toubro’s, AM Naik Heavy Engineering Complex in Hazira, Gujarat on October 24, 2026. Defence Secretary and Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Shri Rajesh Kumar Singh was the Chief Guest who graced the ceremony virtually. Chief of Materiel, Indian Navy Vice Admiral B Sivakumar and Director General (Naval Systems & Materials), DRDO Dr R Balamuralikrishnan attended the event at L&T Hazira, Gujarat.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chairman DRDO congratulated DRDO and the industry partners and appreciated the scientific perseverance & industrial cooperation in the indigenous AIP Program, which has culminated into productive reality on the shop floor. He also acknowledged the cooperation rendered by the Indian Navy to DRDO throughout the course of this programme, including testing and validating at every stage of the trials. He emphasised on working towards next phases of the program towards achieving Navy’s induction timelines for AIP system while maintaining the exacting safety culture that hydrogen and fuel cell systems require without compromise.
In the next phase, the AIP Energy Module will be energised for power production and tested rigorously as per Indian Navy’s protocols before handing over to Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited for integration on Kalvari-class Submarine in early 2027.