New Delhi: Sagar Defence Engineering Limited (SDE) unveiled its indigenously developed Autonomous Unmanned Marine Surface Vehicle at the Indian Navy’s Swavlamban 2026 (October 26-27, 2026) at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi.
Developed under the Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) initiative, the Autonomous Unmanned Marine Surface Vehicle focuses on autonomous maritime capabilities aligned with evolving naval operational requirements. The project explores the application of unmanned systems and coordinated autonomous technologies in maritime swarming operations, reflecting the growing role of indigenous innovation in addressing emerging defence challenges.
Advancing the Future of Autonomous Maritime Operations
As maritime security challenges become increasingly complex, autonomous and unmanned systems are emerging as important technological capabilities for future naval operations. The Autonomous Unmanned Marine Surface Vehicle represents SDE’s continued focus on next-generation maritime technologies, including autonomous operations, coordinated systems and advanced engineering solutions.
The development also reflects the Indian Navy’s emphasis on fostering collaboration with domestic industry through initiatives such as iDEX, encouraging indigenous research and engineering to address evolving operational requirements while contributing to India’s broader defence indigenisation objectives.
Commenting on the unveiling, Nikunj Parashar, Founder and CMD, Sagar Defence Engineering Limited, said, “The future of maritime defence will increasingly depend on intelligent, autonomous and indigenously developed technologies. The Ministry of Defence, the Indian Navy and our Armed Forces have played an important role in encouraging Indian industry to undertake the development of advanced defence capabilities. Through initiatives such as iDEX, companies like ours have the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to evolving operational requirements.”
He added, “ The unveiling of our Autonomous Unmanned Marine Surface Vehicle represents an important step in this journey, and we remain grateful for the continued support and encouragement of our defence ecosystem as we work towards strengthening India’s technological self-reliance.”
Contributing to India’s Defence Indigenisation Journey
Swavlamban 2026, the Indian Navy’s Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Seminar, provides a platform for collaboration between the Armed Forces, defence industry, startups, MSMEs and research institutions, bringing together stakeholders working towards advancing India’s indigenous defence capabilities.
SDE’s participation and the unveiling of its Autonomous Unmanned Marine Surface Vehicle reflect its continued commitment to developing autonomous maritime technologies and contributing to the country’s long-term maritime security priorities, in line with the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
Founded in 2015, Sagar Defence Engineering (SDE) is a vertically integrated Indian deep-tech company developing unmanned and autonomous systems to serve sovereign and commercial applications across defence, scientific and industrial sectors. They combine autonomy software, embedded electronics, AI and machine learning, sensor fusion, navigation, communications and mission software mission-ready autonomous platforms for surface and sub-surface operations.
At the core of their maritime autonomy portfolio is GENISYS, their proprietary, platform-agnostic autonomy and command-and-control system. GENISYS is designed to enable autonomous navigation and mission planning.
Their autonomous platforms portfolio spans across maritime surface, sub-surface, aerial and land domains, including unmanned surface vessels, autonomous underwater vehicles and maritime autonomy solutions for defence, border security, critical infrastructure protection and maritime surveillance.
They are also establishing an Autonomous Maritime Shipyard and Systems Development Centre to R&D, series production, ocean testing and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO).
