French defence major Exail and India’s Larsen & Toubro have entered into a strategic partnership to develop advanced unmanned mine countermeasure systems for the Indian Navy, marking a major push toward strengthening India’s maritime security and indigenous defence manufacturing ecosystem. The collaboration is aimed at supporting the Navy’s long-delayed Mine Counter Measure Vessel (MCMV) programme, which plans to induct 12 specialised vessels equipped with autonomous mine warfare technologies.
Under the agreement, L&T will serve as the prime contractor, offering the unmanned mine countermeasure suite to all shipyards participating in the MCMV programme, while France-based Exail will provide the core technology and operational expertise. The system will include autonomous and remotely operated platforms capable of detecting, classifying, identifying and neutralising underwater mines from a safe stand-off distance, significantly reducing risks to naval personnel during mine-clearing operations.
The collaboration is seen as a major step toward closing a crucial capability gap in the Indian Navy. India has been without dedicated minesweeping vessels since 2019, when the Soviet-era INS Kozhikode, the country’s last specialised minesweeper, was decommissioned. The Navy had originally proposed acquiring 12 new minesweepers in 2005, but the project faced repeated delays and cancellations over nearly two decades. According to internal Navy assessments, India requires at least 24 MCMVs to secure its 7,516-km coastline and more than 200 ports against underwater mine threats.
The unmanned systems to be supplied under the partnership are based on Exail’s globally deployed technologies already operational with several navies worldwide. The systems have been validated through extensive real-world deployments and are designed to operate in high-risk maritime environments. Industry experts believe the integration of autonomous underwater and remotely operated vehicles will modernise India’s mine warfare capabilities and reduce dependence on ageing conventional platforms.
The partnership also aligns closely with the Indian government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives. Both companies have indicated that the programme will focus heavily on local manufacturing, industrial collaboration, lifecycle support and the development of sovereign unmanned maritime systems within India. L&T stated that the collaboration combines its defence engineering, indigenous manufacturing and complex system integration capabilities with Exail’s decades of expertise in mine warfare technologies.
The announcement had an immediate impact on investor sentiment. Shares of L&T rose over 1 percent on May 14, touching an intraday high of ₹3,988 on the NSE, as markets reacted positively to the strategic defence partnership. The company’s stock was later trading around ₹3,946 apiece.
Beyond the commercial and military dimensions, the deal is also being viewed as another milestone in growing Indo-French defence cooperation. The partnership is expected to support the long-term development of next-generation naval drones and autonomous mission systems in India while strengthening the country’s maritime defence infrastructure amid rising regional security challenges.