INS Androth, the second of the Indian Navy’s new Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC), has been welcomed into service.
The commissioning of the 77-metre vessel took place in a special ceremony staged on Monday at the Naval Dockyard, in Visakhapatnam on India’s east coast, about 300 miles due east of Hyderabad.
The second of a new class of littoral vessels, she follows her sister boat INS Arnala, which entered active service in June. She displaces about 1,500 tonnes, and is powered by a diesel-driven waterjet which gives her a maximum speed of about 25 knots.
The full $1.8 billion programme will see 16 domestically-built new anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvettes produced. Eight vessels each are being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) and Cochin Shipyard (CSL); all 16 ships are scheduled to be delivered by the middle of 2028.
To build its eight vessels, GRSE has teamed with fellow shipbuilder Larsen & Toubro; four of those vessels including the Arnala will be constructed at its Kattupalli Shipyard near Chennai. The Androth was the first of GRSE’s boats to be built at its own yard in Kolkata.
As per an Indian Ministry of Defence press statement, the new vessels have been designed to carry out a broad range of ASW and other operations.
These include underwater surveillance in littoral waters, search-and-destroy missions and coordinated ASW missions in tandem with naval aircraft. They also have air defence, mine-laying, and search-and-rescue (SAR) capabilities.
The statement noted: “INS Androth is a shining symbol of a maritime ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ with over 80% indigenous content.”
It added: “INS Androth underscores [the] Indian Navy’s sustained efforts in constantly enhancing indigenous content through homegrown solutions and innovative technologies.”
It described Androth’s commissioning as “a major step towards bolstering the Navy’’s capability in anti-submarine warfare.”
The new vessel has been named after the most northerly island in the Lakshadweep archipelago, an historically and strategically important chain of 36 islands off India’s west coast.
- You can read more details on the Indian Ministry of Defence website