The Indian Navy is set to welcome its second and third Nilgiri-class P-17A stealth frigates into active service on the same day later this month.
The two new warships, INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri, have been built by Mumbai’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and Kolkata’s Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), respectively.
The vessels are scheduled to be commissioned side by side at the headquarters of the Indian Navy’s Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam on August 26.
Both ships have a special significance: Udaygiri is the 100th ship designed by the Navy’s Warship Design Bureau, while Himgiri is the first of its class produced at the GRSE yard.
The Nilgiri-class frigates, which are replacing the Shivalik-class vessels, “represent a generational leap” from their predecessors, as per an Indian Ministry of Defence (IMoD) press release. Roughly 75% of all the ship’s systems have been domestically developed.
The 149-metre warships each displace about 6,700 tons, have a 5,500-nautical-mile range and are capable of cruising at up to 32 knots.
As per previous IMoD statements, their weapon suite includes the supersonic BrahMos anti-ship missile system, and Barak 8 medium-range surface-to-air missiles.
The ships are also fitted with Varunastra torpedoes and an OTO Melara 76mm naval gun, and a combination of 30mm and 12.7mm rapid-fire close-in weapon systems.
The IMoD statement said the double commissioning ceremony will “underscore India’s accelerating naval modernisation and its ability to deliver sophisticated warships from multiple shipyards.”
Other Indian Navy ships commissioned so far this year include destroyer INS Surat, frigate INS Nilgiri, submarine INS Vaghsheer, ASW Shallow Water Craft INS Arnala, and Diving Support Vessel INS Nistar.
- You can read more details on the IMoD website