INS Anvesh with its four ship launch systems

In April 2023 Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Navy successfully conducted a maiden flight trial of sea-based endo-atmospheric interceptor missile in the Bay of Bengal region on April 21, 2023. The purpose of the trial was to engage and neutralize a hostile ballistic missile threat thereby elevating India into the elite club of Nations having Naval BMD capability.

Prior to this, DRDO has successfully demonstrated land-based BMD system with capability to neutralize ballistic missile threats, emerging from adversaries.

INS Anvesh "Floating Test Range" (FTR)

INS Anvesh (formerly known as the DRDO Technology Demonstration Vessel), is a missile range instrumentation ship built for the Indian Navy. Designed by the DRDO and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), the ship was conceived to serve as a sea-based platform for India's ballistic missile defence program. The ship was designed by Vik-Sandvik Design India Pvt Ltd reported Naval News.

In a secretive ceremony, India had commissioned INS Anvesh (A41) on March 11, 2022. The ship is designed to form the building blocks for future naval BMD capability and is primarily intended to take part in Phase-II BMD trials.

To facilitate this, INS Anvesh is equipped with roll damping tanks, missile integration and checkout bay, data processing room and mission control centre. To the aft of the ship, four ship launch systems are present along with a 15 ton crane and A-frame for cargo handling. The ship launch systems are developed by Electro-Pneumatics & Hydraulics. These are designed to accept the missile from the checkout bay, secure it during transport and raise it vertically for launch.

Phase-II of India’s BMD program involves development of the AD-1 endo-atmospheric interceptor and the AD-2 Exo-atmospheric interceptor. The maiden flight trial of AD-1 was held on November 2, 2022. As its development progresses, this missile will also be tested and deployed from naval platforms.

It was reported that Indian Navy’s missile tracking and surveillance vessel INS Dhruv also participated in the trial.

Other than BMD missiles, INS Anvesh is also equipped to test radars, sonars, telemetry equipment and propulsion. It is the Indian Navy’s first medium voltage Integrated Full Electric Propulsion (IFEP) vessel, with a total output of 14 MW produced by diesel generators powering steerable contra-rotating propulsion thrusters. 

Naval AAAU Active Antenna Array Unit


The DRDO’s S-band Ship-Borne Radar (SBR) is intended to replace the IAI Elta EL/M-2248 MF-STAR as the primary naval radar of the Indian Navy. MF-STAR is currently fitted aboard Kolkata-class destroyers and Project 15B destroyers (two of which are in service) and will be fitted onboard INS Vikrant and Project 17A frigates. The Active Antenna Array Unit (AAAU) for SBR is being built by Astra Microwave Products Ltd. This AAAU would be delivered in the latter half of 2023. Once built, the SBR would be tested onboard INS Anvesh. The radar is expected to have secondary capability to track ballistic missiles, giving future surface combatants the capability to defeat endo-atmospheric ballistic targets.

INS Anvesh has the following specifications:

Type: Missile range instrumentation vessel and Floating Test Range (FTR)
Displacement: 11,300 tons (11,122 long tons; 12,456 short tons)
Length: 118.40 m (388 ft 5 in)
Beam: 20 m (65 ft 7 in)
Draught: 7.1 m (23 ft 4 in)
Depth: 10.40 m (34 ft 1 in)
Installed Power: 3 x 4320 ekW (Main Gen Set) 1 x 1350 ekW (Aux Gen Set)
Propulsion: 2 × 5,000 kW (6,705 hp) prop motor, 2 x 4,200 mm (165 in) CPP-Contra-Rotating Pod Propeller, 1 × 1,000 kW (1,341 hp) Forward Tunnel Thruster
Speed: Over 18.5 knots (34.3 km/h; 21.3 mph)
Sensors and Processing Systems: LRDE Long-Range Multi Function Radar
Primary Weapon: 4 x Ship launch systems for BMD test missiles
Endurance: 45 days
Crew: 165 (including Scientific Crew)