Amphibious landings have been an important part of the Indian Navy’s largest maritime wargame, TROPEX 2025. However, India operates only one Landing Platform Dock (LPD), which has been leased from the US.
The proposal to acquire amphibious warships that have been hanging fire has gathered some steam. The UK and India have agreed to design and develop electric propulsion systems for the Indian Navy’s futuristic LPDs and jointly develop India’s first maritime Land-based Testing Facility (LBTF), with an aim to get the amphibious warships in the water by 2030.
The goal is to draw from the UK’s shipbuilding experience and plug India’s capability gaps. While working on the designs, lessons will be drawn from the UK’s progress from Type 23 frigates to LPD, Type-45 destroyers, Landing Ship Docks, and the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier.
The development of such facilities often involves collaboration between multiple organizations and countries. GE Vernova and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) are working together to establish India’s first maritime LBTF to support the development of Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) technology for the Indian Navy.
The landmark maritime electric propulsion capability transfer will ensure the Indian Navy’s self-reliance in the power and propulsion of its next-generation fleets.
The British High Commission in India published: “On the maritime front, the UK and India have signed a Statement of Intent to design and develop an Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) system for India’s next generation Landing Platform Dock (LPD) fleet. As the next steps, GE Vernova and BHEL are working to develop India’s first maritime Land Based Testing Facility to deliver LPD in the water by 2030.”
Currently, the Indian Navy operates one US-acquired INS Jalashwa (the former USS Trenton), an Austin-class amphibious transport dock with a sealift capability for over 3,500 troops and a squadron of armored vehicles. INS Jalashwa was added to the Indian Navy’s inventory after the Tsunami in 2004.
When one of the largest humanitarian missions was launched in the wake of the natural disaster in 2004, it highlighted a major shortcoming of the force, considered to be the first responder in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR)—it did not have amphibious assault ships (LPDs), which help move men and materials.
Hence, a maritime Land-Based Testing Facility (LBTF) for LPDs is an important development. The LBTF is a specialized infrastructure designed to test and validate various systems and technologies meant to be used in LPDs.
The facility tests Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) systems, which offer enhanced flexibility, power scalability, and maintenance efficiency. These systems combine power for propulsion and onboard equipment, streamlining energy management across naval platforms. High-fidelity simulators are used to train personnel and test the performance of various systems under different operational scenarios.
The facility integrates and tests electric motors, generators, switchboards, and power converters to ensure they work seamlessly together. The facility ensures that the systems can accommodate future technologies, including clean energy sources, enhancing operational sustainability.
The next-generation electric propulsion technology offers immense benefits, such as lower emissions, noise, and vibration. Warships driven by electric propulsion are “unsurpassed for their quietness of operation.”
Electric propulsion is known for its reliability. Apart from periodic safety checks, the crew is not permanently stationed in the engine rooms. The propulsion system can also be managed remotely. Electric propulsion improves response time during operational needs, with smoother maneuvering and positioning and quick response when speed increases.
Indian Navy’s Attempt To Have An Amphibious Fleet
The Indian Navy has issued the request for proposals twice since 2004–once in 2011 and another one in 2021. The 2011 proposal could not be fructified due to problems between Indian and foreign designers.
The Navy issued the tender in 2013 but scrapped it in 2020 because the Indian Navy’s requirements for the LPDs had changed. The process for procuring four LPDs was again set in motion in 2021.
The RFI issued in 2021 sought LPDs with a maximum length of around 200 meters and capable of ferrying 900 troops. Unlike the western LPDs, which have little offensive armament onboard, the Indian Navy envisaged deploying 16 surface-to-surface missiles.
The ship should also have 32 short-range surface-to-air missiles and be able to replace the fast-firing guns with ‘directed energy weapons,’ namely lasers and microwaves that can fry the guidance seekers of missiles and UAVs.
The LPDs should be able to carry at least 6 main battle tanks and roughly 60 heavy trucks. These vehicles would be ferried to the shore in a smaller amphibious craft deployed from an LPD dock. In addition, the LPD will have 14 helicopters (two heavy-lift choppers and 12 special operations rotary aircraft). The special operations helicopters would carry troops and light cargo to battlefields.
Considering futuristic warfare, these LPDs will be able to deploy aerial and underwater unmanned vehicles.
The Indian Navy’s intended LPD should be capable of “transporting and landing a combined arms force and sustaining their operations ashore.” These warships will be able to sustain a body of troops for prolonged durations and carry on board a full range of combat cargo required for undertaking and sustaining the operations ashore.
China’s Amphibious Might
Given its peculiar geography, which ranges from vast swathes of deep open ocean to relatively shallow and congested archipelagic choke points like the Malacca Straits and the South China Sea, China has been augmenting its amphibious capabilities with its Type 071 amphibious assault ships (LPDs).
With a displacement of nearly 20,000 tons, these vessels are larger than the US Navy’s San Antonio LPD-17 class ships. They serve as the backbone of China’s future amphibious fleet and can carry troops, armored vehicles, helicopters, and landing craft.
Beijing has already begun building the Type 075 variant vessel. Three of these warships are expected to be commissioned by 2025. The Type 075 will give the PLA Navy greater capacity and endurance for long-range operations.
The Type 075, constructed at the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyards, will provide amphibious power projection, sea control, and air support capability with a helicopter complement and command and control capabilities.
It will have a displacement of between 30,000 and 40,000 tons. Its floodable well-dock can support both Russian and Chinese-designed landing craft air cushions (LCAC).
The futuristic Type 076 vessels are expected to be equipped with electromagnetic catapults, which would enhance their ability to support fixed-wing aircraft.
