It makes sense for India to purchase the two Albion Class LPDs that the UK Navy is offering for sale. The reason for this is that the Indian Navy only has one LPD at the moment, the INS Jalashwa, a former US Navy destroyer that was constructed in 1971 but was only utilised infrequently, allowing it to serve for a long time in both the Indian and US Navys.
However, it will have to retire in the next five to six years, meaning the Indian Navy will be left without any LPDs in its fleet. Recall that the newly elected Labour administration declared in November 2024 that it intended to sell both ships after they were taken out of service in March 2025.
The Indian Navy is holding a tender to build four locally constructed LPDs, however the ships are essentially at least 15 years away from joining the Indian Navy force. This is because of budgetary restrictions, design uncertainty, and disagreements over who will construct. The wisest course of action in the interim is to purchase the two Albion-class LPDs that the UK Navy has chosen to sell. The UK Navy has been keeping these ships in standby/readiness mode since they were built in the early 2000s, but maintaining them in operationally ready status is becoming more and more expensive. For the previous ten years, both LPDs have been maintained in operationally ready status, one after the other.
The Royal UK Navy has a class of amphibious assault ships called the Albion-class landing platform dock. HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark are the two ships in the class; they were both ordered in 1996 to replace the ageing Fearless class LPDs, which did well in the 1982 Falklands War. At the former Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering yard in Barrow-in-Furness, BAE Systems Marine constructed both vessels. Bulwark and Albion were put into service in 2005 and 2003, respectively. Each ship can hold up to 405 troops and has a 325-person crew. 31
The vehicle deck can accommodate 36 smaller vehicles, heavy trucks, and main battle tanks. The ships have eight landing craft to unload soldiers and vehicles. Both ships remain in reserve as of 2024, however there were intentions to keep them there until 2033–2034 when the Multi Role Support Ships (MRSS) of the future would take their place.
The tasks of both vessels are “to act as the afloat command platform for the Royal Navy’s Amphibious Task Force and Landing Force Commanders when embarked” as well as “to embark, transport, deploy and recover troops with their equipment and vehicles which form part of an amphibious assault force” . They are bigger and more powerful than the Fearless class, and they were part of the British amphibious fleet’s modernisation program, which also included the Point-class sealift ships, the Bay-class landing ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean (until 2018).
The Royal Navy’s 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review came to the conclusion that one of its two Albion-class LPDs should be kept at high operational readiness while the other should be placed into extended readiness, or uncrewed reserve, in order to reduce operating expenses. Over the course of their service careers, the warships were to alternate between high readiness and extended readiness. It was confirmed that Albion, at a cost of UK £2.5 million, would be the first of the two vessels to be placed at extended readiness as a cost-cutting measure.
In order to maintain the vessel’s availability for reactivation at short notice, operating expenses during extended readiness are expected to be £3,000,000 per year in the UK. When HMS Bulwark was placed in extended readiness, HMS Albion returned to high readiness. HMS Albion underwent a regeneration refit in 2014 and returned to service in 2016.
From 2007 to 2011, one of the Albion-class ships at high readiness has annual operating costs ranging from £17.7 million to £38.6 million. Bulwark was kept at extended readiness until the end of 2018, while Albion was still in active duty. However, it was stated in 2024 that both ships were now anticipated to stay in reserve because of Royal Navy personnel issues and the impending completion of a significant refurbishment of HMS Bulwark.
The UK Navy intends to decommission the ships in March 2025. According to a report on December 20, 2024, the Brazilian Navy is negotiating with the UK Navy to purchase just HMS Bulwark. According to a report on January 26, 2025, the Royal and Brazilian navies subsequently announced that the two boats of the class, Albion and Bulwark, had been sold to Brazil for a pittance of UK£20 million (R$145 million). But according to reports, the talks have apparently halted once more as of right now.
As previously said, the wisest course of action is to purchase the two Albion-class LPDs that the UK Navy has chosen to offer for sale in order to replace INS Jalashwa and close the capability gap until we are able to construct our own LPDs in-house. The Indian Navy has been operating without a functional minesweeper for more than five years as a result of the government of India’s and the Indian Navy’s insistence on only purchasing domestic warships rather than purchasing new ones from overseas sources.
We passed up the opportunity to purchase US Navy minesweeper service, and we didn’t even accept the price that Russia, which was prepared to provide a minesweeper design, offered. Even now, we are still unable to choose a minesweeper design, much less a builder. If we want to construct a “Blue Water Navy” in the near future, we must avoid making the same error twice because, in theory, a blue water navy needs to have a fleet of LPDs. In order for the UK Navy to purchase the two Albion-class LPDs, India must make a better offer.
This agreement may also assist India in its talks with the UK on other defence projects, such as the fighter jet engine project, in which UK company Rolls-Royce may play a significant role and contribute to its advancement. Additionally, this could assist the Indian Navy in obtaining a minesweeper or a design from the United Kingdom Navy, ultimately leading to the development of the India Navy’s much-needed minesweeper. To satisfy its needs, India can select between the Hunt class and the Sandown class.
for 12 Mine Counter Measure Vessels, or MCMVs. Keep in mind that Pakistan has five minesweepers and even Iran has one in its fleet, whilst India has none. It’s time for the Indian Navy to use common sense and persuade the Indian government to make a better offer to the UK Navy and purchase the two Albion class LPDs.
