Navantia and India's Larsen & Toubro (L&T) have signed a strategic agreement to jointly support the Indian Navy's future Landing Platform Dock (LPD) program, which envisages the acquisition of four amphibious warships, Spain based web portal Democrata reported.

The partnership was formalised in Madrid through a memorandum of understanding (MoU), establishing a long-term framework for cooperation between the Spanish naval shipbuilder and the Indian engineering and shipbuilding group.

Under the arrangement, L&T's engineering and shipbuilding expertise will be combined with Navantia's experience in designing and constructing complex surface combatants and submarines. The collaboration is also intended to strengthen India's domestic capability to build large naval vessels.

The proposed solution will draw heavily on Navantia's proven Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) designs, including Spain's Juan Carlos I and Australia's Canberra and Adelaide class ships.

These vessels are capable of supporting aviation operations while also deploying troops, vehicles and landing craft through a floodable internal dock, making them suitable models for India's amphibious warfare requirements.

The Indian Navy's planned LPD fleet is expected to support amphibious operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster-relief missions and a wide range of maritime tasks.

The cooperation also aligns with India's broader drive to expand indigenous naval construction capabilities and increase self-reliance in the development of complex military platforms.

Arun Ramchandani, Senior Vice President and Head of Precision Engineering & Systems at L&T, said the partnership combines the company's extensive shipbuilding strengths with Navantia's global experience to address the highly sophisticated requirements of the LPD program.

He added that the alliance would help strengthen India's maritime capabilities while advancing the country's capacity to independently build critical and technologically demanding naval platforms.

Navantia's Chief Operating Officer, Gonzalo Mateo-Guerrero, said the company was proud to deepen its relationship with L&T and highlighted the complementary strengths of both firms.

According to Navantia, its expertise in strategic naval platform design, coupled with L&T's engineering excellence and shipyard capabilities, will support the development of the most suitable technical solution for the Indian Navy.

The Spanish company also reaffirmed its commitment to providing long-term support to L&T, the Indian Navy and other stakeholders throughout the complete life cycle of the future LPD vessels.

The agreement builds on previous cooperation between Navantia and L&T and positions both companies to compete for one of the Indian Navy's most significant upcoming amphibious shipbuilding projects.

Agencies