Sagar Defence Engineering Lays Foundation for Autonomous Marine Shipbuilding Center

[Ahmet Ö.]

## Sagar Defence Engineering: Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Autonomous Marine Shipbuilding Centre

Sagar Defence Engineering has taken a significant step towards strengthening India's indigenous defense industry and advancing marine technologies. On March 12, 2026, a historic groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Autonomous Marine Shipbuilding and Systems Centre at Juvvaladinne Fishing Harbour, Andhra Pradesh.

The foundation stone for the center was laid by Nara Lokesh, Minister for Human Resources Development, IT, Electronics & Communication, Andhra Pradesh. The ceremony was also attended by prominent figures such as Kavali MLA Dagumati Venkata Krishna Reddy and Nellore Lok Sabha MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy. The company's founder, Capt. Nikunj Parashar, was also present at the ceremony.

Starting from a small workspace in Mumbai in 2015, Sagar Defence Engineering has grown over the past decade into a pioneering defense technology company, developing advanced unmanned systems across marine, aerial, land, and underwater domains, expanding to a 10-acre defense manufacturing and R&D campus in Pune.

### Significance of the Autonomous Marine Shipbuilding Centre

This center is designed as India's first facility for the development, testing, and production of autonomous marine systems. The center will focus on unmanned surface and underwater vehicles, intelligent navigation systems, marine sensors, communication networks, and command and control platforms for autonomous operations.

### Features of the Autonomous Marine Shipbuilding Centre

• Allotment of 29.58 acres of land at Juvvaladinne Fishing Harbour (7.58 acres beachfront, 22 acres harbor area)
• Shipbuilding, testing, and trial capabilities with direct sea access
• Automation of design, production, testing, and maintenance processes with an AI-powered Shipyard Management System
• Virtual replication of vessels and infrastructure with digital twin technology
• Automated welding, cutting, painting, and assembly with robotic manufacturing systems
• Autonomous material handling systems (robots and Automated Guided Vehicles - AGVs)
• Additive manufacturing (3D printing) for rapid custom part production in the long term
• Autonomous systems for vessel launching, recovery, and mooring
• Precise navigation based on vision systems, lidar sensors, and GPS

This facility will accelerate the real-time testing and development of autonomous vessel technologies, aligning with global trends in the maritime sector towards robotics, artificial intelligence, and unmanned platforms, thereby enhancing India's global competitiveness in marine technologies.