The 50 metre long vessels, which are currently under construction, will reach speeds of 33 knots and will operate in Indian coastal waters and around island territories. Their roles will include coastal patrolling, anti-smuggling missions, fisheries protection, as well as search and rescue duties. Water jets enable operation in shallow waters and offer higher speeds and better manoeuvrability than conventional propellers.

Rolls-Royce has been supplying to the Indian Coast Guard for 20 years. It has 86 water jets already in service and other equipment such as controllable pitch propellers and stabilising fins operational on other vessels in the fleet. Rolls-Royce has also supplied a design and equipment package for three UT 517 design Pollution Control Vessels, the first of which entered service in 2010.

Currently, there are over 1,300 Rolls-Royce engines in service in India and the company’s global market sectors - civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy - are all represented in the country.

"India is an extremely significant country for Rolls-Royce, both as a market, and as a country that is playing a growing role in the Group’s global operations. From licensed production to engineering services and component manufacture the business has expanded in the last decade supported by mutually beneficial partnerships with leading companies in India including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), L&T, TCS and QuEST," the company said in a statement.