Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: THE Indian Navy will commission two state-of-the-art stealth frigates — INS Udaygiri (F35) and INS Himgiri (F34) — at Visakhapatnam on August 26. This will be the first time that two major surface combatants built by separate Indian shipyards will be inducted into service simultaneously.
While INS Udaygiri, the second vessel in the Project 17A class of stealth frigates, is built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai, INS Himgiri is the first P17A frigate constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) Kolkata. “This milestone showcases the success of the Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives in the defence sector,” the defence ministry said.
Udaygiri is the second P17A frigate from MDL, while Himgiri is GRSE’s first under the project. Notably, Udaygiri is also the 100th ship designed by the Navy’s Warship Design Bureau.
Displacing around 6,700 tonnes, the P17A frigates are about five per cent larger than the Shivalik-class but feature a sleeker hull form with a reduced radar signature. Powered by Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion systems and managed through an Integrated Platform Management System, the ships carry a mix of supersonic surface-to-surface missiles, medium-range surface-to-air missiles, a 76 mm gun, close-in weapon systems, and anti-submarine weapons.
