The CEO of Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd, Rahul Sahai, has said that the company is “on track” to deliver India’s first locally made marine engine. A four-stroke, 6 MW V12 engine will be delivered to the Indian Navy by April 2028 as per the contractually mandated deadline.
Speaking to ET Infra, Rahul Sahai said, “It will be hard for me to comment on some of the naval orders at this point in time, but what I can say is most of the orders will get executed post 2028 as far as physical execution is concerned. So, there is a high possibility that the Indian Navy may want its own indigenised engine for each of them.”
“We received the contract for the engine – 6 MW V12 engine – in April 2025, and as per our contract, we are supposed to deliver it by April 2028; that is what is in writing, and that is what we have to do,” Sahai added.
The prototype diesel engine will comprise over 50 per cent indigenous content. The engine is being developed at a cost of ₹270 crore. The 70 per cent of this cost is being contributed by the Central government. In addition to the 6 MW V12 engine, the order also includes the development of a detailed design for a 3-10 MW diesel engine.
“As per our timeline, we are absolutely on track, and this gets reviewed at the Secretary level in the Ministry of Defence, so there is very little room for deviation. So, whatever is needed for getting this up and running, we are ensuring that, including a lot of design and development that’s happening within KOEL. Most of the development is being done by us,” Sahai stated.
