MUMBAI: On September 8, 2025 a momentous day in Indian Naval was at the shipyard at Thane. The 11th Ammunition Cum Torpedo Cum Missile (ACTCM) Barge, LSAM 25 (Yard 135) was launched into the sea, completing a contract that had been initiated just four years ago. Chief Guest for the Launching Ceremony was Rear Admiral Vishal Bishno, ACWP&A, this ceremony was a deafening declaration of India’s march towards self-sufficiency in maritime logistics.
Barge and its journey in India
A barge can be seem walking alongside the towering figures of destroyers or aircraft carriers. By tradition, a barge is a flat-bottomed boat meant for the transport of heavy cargo. In naval warfare, barges are the behind-the-scenes workhorses carrying ammunition, torpedoes, missiles, fuel and water to front-line warships. Without them no fleet can stay in operation for very long. A warship may represent power, but its sustainability is due to the steady, quiet work of these support vessels.
India journey of barges started in the 1950’s, when the newly independent country embarked on designing and constructing its own support boats. Goa Shipyard, Mazagon Dock and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) built initial models of fuel carriers, water barges and passenger launches. These formed the initial batch of indigenously constructed support boats for the Navy.
By the 1980’s and 1990’s, when India was modernizing its naval capabilities, the requirement for support craft with specialisation increased. GRSE along with other government shipyards started building ammunition barges, missile transfer barges and tugs, which gradually replaced imported support vessels.
The actual shift happened in the year 2014. With the introduction of Make in India (2014) and the subsequent Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, attention quickly move towards domestic defence production. The policy not only gave a boost to large defence public sector shipyards but also created opportunities for MSMEs to directly add to national defence.
The ACTCM Barges: A New Chapter
In March 2021, the Ministry of Defence inked a historic contract with M/s Suryadipta Projects Pvt Ltd, Thane, an MSME shipyard, for the development of 11 Ammunition Cum Torpedo Cum Missile (ACTCM) Barges. These were not foreign design adaptations but were indigenously designed and built.
The design was provided by an Indian ship design company, classification was carried out by the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS) and its worthiness in sea was validated at the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam, a DRDO laboratory. Every barge is a reflection of Indianness, tried on Indian coasts and constructed by Indian hands.
By 2025, 10 out of the 11 barges were already delivered and incorporated into naval operations. The launch of the 11th barge at Thane wrapped up the cycle, demonstrating that private Indian industry could deliver on time, on quality and on commitment.
The ACTCM Barges themselves might not transport missiles, but they make it possible for missiles to reach the ships that transport them. They enable swift rearming and restocking of ammunition and supplies, an important aspect of long-duration deployments. For a nation hoping to be a net security provider in the Indo-Pacific, this logistical independence is essential.
These barges also represent a wider reality India defence readiness is no longer limited to warship headliners. It is equally on the strong shoulders of support ships that maintain naval power day in and day out.
Aatmanirbhar Bharat at Sea
The tale of the ACTCM Barges summarizes the spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. By giving away such projects to MSMEs, the government has increased the defence manufacturing base, with even smaller shipyards being included to contribute to the national security. This is industrial decentralisation, but it is a deliberate effort to create a strong and self-dependent system.
Where India used to look outside even for ancillary ships, today it has platforms that are entirely conceived, tested and constructed in the country. The ACTCM Barges are thus more than vessels, they are a symbol of faith in Indian capability.
While the Navy continues to bolster its fleet with aircraft carriers, destroyers and submarines, the need for made-in-India support vessels will only intensify. The success of the ACTCM project has established a blueprint for future projects fuel barges, water carriers and advanced logistic ships made by Indian MSMEs, approved by Indian agencies and validated in Indian testing facilities.
This transformation also opens defence export opportunities. Countries in the Indian Ocean region, some of which are dependent on foreign providers even for low-level naval support, can look toward India as a reliable partner providing affordable, with sure and homegrown solutions.
The induction of the 11th ACTCM Barge is testament to India’s consistent rise from dependence to self-sufficiency from colonial legacy to native innovation. It might glide silently through harbours, but its arrival is underscored with the message that India’s maritime prowess is not only founded upon its warships, but upon the self-reliant strength that keeps them combat-ready.
In the waves of the Thane waters, as LSAM 25 float in the sea, it echoed an assertion of India determination, that our defence future will be built in India, driven by Indians and designed for Indian seas.
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