Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) Limited, a leading Defence Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) and one of India’s premier warship builders, has signed a teaming agreement with Bengaluru-based Merlinhawk Aerospace Pvt Ltd to indigenously develop and manufacture composite doors and hatches for the Indian Navy’s warships.

The collaboration marks a significant step forward in the twin goals of capability enhancement and self-reliance in defence manufacturing under the Government of India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. This strategic partnership is designed to create a fully integrated framework covering the engineering, design, testing, fabrication, and installation of advanced composite-based access systems for naval vessels.

These components, which include watertight and weathertight doors and hatches along with their locking mechanisms and associated hardware, are critical for the safety, durability, and operational efficiency of warships.

Traditionally, naval doors and hatches have been fabricated using steel, which, while strong and durable, poses challenges in terms of weight, corrosion resistance, and long-term maintenance.

By replacing steel with composite materials, the Indian Navy stands to benefit from reduced structural weight, increased fuel efficiency, enhanced corrosion resistance in harsh maritime environments, and improved life-cycle cost management.

Composites also allow greater design flexibility, better thermal and acoustic insulation properties, and improved resistance to environmental stress—all of which enhance survivability and crew comfort onboard.

Given the Navy’s modernisation trajectory, particularly the ongoing construction of next-generation stealth frigates, destroyers, and auxiliary vessels at GRSE’s shipyards, the adoption of advanced indigenous composite technologies is a key requirement to keep pace with global naval standards.

The agreement between GRSE and Merlinhawk Aerospace also highlights the broader policy push to indigenise critical shipbuilding components—a domain historically reliant on foreign procurement.

Merlinhawk’s expertise in cutting-edge aerospace materials and engineering, coupled with GRSE’s longstanding track record of delivering complex warship platforms for the Indian Navy, makes this partnership a natural fit for India’s defence ecosystem.

Beyond immediate production, the collaboration envisions joint R&D for next-tier applications of composites in naval environments, expanding beyond doors and hatches to potentially include superstructures, radomes, and stealth-enabling components. This will not only reduce import dependency but also position both firms as key players in India’s expanding defence export market.

Officials from GRSE emphasised that this teaming agreement will ensure that the Indian Navy’s vessels benefit from globally competitive, indigenously designed solutions fully integrated into the ship’s architecture from the early stages of construction.

This is expected to streamline supply chains, cut down project delivery timelines, and minimise technical risks associated with retrofitting. The production systems will also leverage domestic material supply bases, ensuring value addition to the Indian defence manufacturing ecosystem at multiple levels.

The partnership aligns seamlessly with the Navy’s modernisation roadmap and the broader government thrust on Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence.

It underscores the paradigm shift in Indian naval shipbuilding from incremental upgrades of traditional steel-centric technologies to the integration of lighter, smarter, and more adaptable materials capable of matching global benchmarks.

By localising such critical components, India also strengthens its strategic autonomy in warship production, which is vital given the geopolitical imperatives of maintaining a strong and self-sufficient naval force in the Indian Ocean Region.

The GRSE‑Merlinhawk agreement, therefore, represents not just a material innovation but a step towards holistic self-reliance in India’s naval shipbuilding ecosystem.

Based On A PTI Report