Indian Navy Shakti EW Systems: The Ministry of Defence has signed a deal with Bharat Electronics Limited, or BEL, to buy 11 Shakti electronic warfare systems with related equipment. The total value of the contract is Rs 2,269.54 crore. The government said this purchase is being done under the Buy (Indian-IDDM) category, which means the system is designed, developed, and made in India.
Shakti is an Indian-made electronic warfare system built to work in heavy and confusing electromagnetic conditions. In simple words, it can pick up enemy electronic signals and then disturb them. This makes it useful in modern naval fighting, where radars and guided weapons play a very important role. The system is made to improve the safety and battle strength of Indian Navy warships when they face danger at sea.
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Which Warships will get the System?
These new systems will be fitted on 11 major warships. That includes four Visakhapatnam-class destroyers and seven Nilgiri-class frigates under Project 17A. These ships are among the Navy’s newest and most advanced platforms, so adding Shakti to them is seen as a major move for the next generation of Indian warships. A 2025 government note on Indian naval progress also listed the Project 17A Nilgiri-class frigates as an important part of the Navy’s modernisation drive.
The job of the Shakti system is very important in battle. It is built to detect, track, classify, and jam radio emissions coming from enemy radars. These radars may be on aircraft, warships, or anti-ship missiles. Once the system understands what it is seeing, it can send jamming signals to interfere with those radars. This can stop or weaken the enemy’s ability to find and target friendly ships.
Importance for Indian Naval Defence
The Indian Navy already uses a layered air defence setup on major warships and carrier battle groups. One key part of this is the long-range surface-to-air missile system, or LRSAM, also known as the naval Barak 8. It is already deployed on Kolkata-class and Visakhapatnam-class warships, and government material says modern sensors and weapons are also part of the Nilgiri-class frigates. Shakti will add another line of defence by using jamming as a soft-kill option.
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This project is also expected to help Indian industry. The government said it will create about two and a half lakh man-days of work over four years. More than 155 industry partners, including MSMEs, are expected to take part. So this is not only a defence deal. It is also part of the larger Atmanirbhar Bharat push, where India is trying to build more important military systems at home.
