India’s DRDO and BHEL have jointly unveiled the LM2500 Gas Turbine Infrared Suppression System (GT-IRSS), a breakthrough stealth technology for Indian Navy warships.
This system reduces infrared signatures from turbine exhausts, making vessels harder to detect by enemy sensors and heat-seeking missiles, while strengthening indigenous defence manufacturing under the “Make in India” initiative.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL) has developed the GT-IRSS to address a critical vulnerability in naval propulsion systems.
The LM2500 gas turbine, widely deployed across frontline Indian Navy warships such as destroyers, frigates, and aircraft carriers, generates high-temperature exhaust plumes that can be easily tracked by infrared-guided weapons.
The suppression system cools these exhaust gases, significantly lowering the thermal footprint of vessels and enhancing survivability in contested maritime environments.
The GT-IRSS employs advanced thermal management techniques. Ambient air intake mechanisms draw cooler atmospheric air through specially engineered louvers, mixing it with hot exhaust gases via an eductor-diffuser arrangement. This reduces plume temperature before discharge.
Additionally, seawater mist injection is used to further cool the exhaust stream, while exposed exhaust structures are isolated and cooled to minimise heat radiation. These combined measures reduce both plume and surface thermal signatures without compromising turbine performance, ensuring operational efficiency alongside stealth.
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has signed a Licensing Agreement for Transfer of Technology (LAToT) with DRDO-NSTL to manufacture, install, and commission the GT-IRSS across naval platforms.
This partnership represents a major step in expanding BHEL’s defence portfolio beyond its traditional power sector, leveraging its engineering expertise to absorb and execute critical defence technologies.
The agreement is fully domestic, aligning with India’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision and reducing reliance on foreign suppliers for naval stealth systems.
The collaboration also reflects India’s broader strategic push to indigenise defence technologies. By enabling domestic production of advanced stealth systems, the Navy gains faster deployment capabilities, improved lifecycle support, and greater supply chain independence.
This is particularly significant in the Indo-Pacific region, where maritime competition and the threat of precision-guided weapons are intensifying.
The GT-IRSS will allow Indian warships to operate with enhanced stealth, reducing their detectability by adversary surveillance and missile systems.
Financially, BHEL has reported strong growth momentum, with a provisional turnover of ₹32,350 crore in FY26 and robust order inflows of approximately ₹75,000 crore.
The defence segment is now emerging as a key diversification area, and the GT-IRSS project positions BHEL as a central player in India’s naval defence manufacturing ecosystem.
The unveiling of the GT-IRSS is therefore not only a technological milestone but also a strategic achievement.
It strengthens India’s naval deterrence, enhances survivability of frontline warships, and demonstrates the country’s growing capacity to develop and deploy indigenous stealth technologies.
This initiative underscores India’s commitment to operational autonomy and its determination to secure maritime interests in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific theatre.
Agencies
