INDIA. Mumbai: “Taragiri”, a stealth frigate, the third of the four Project 17A warships, built by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL), a Defence Public Sector Undertaking, located at Mazagon in South Mumbai, was formally launched on Sunday.
The ship was launched by Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Naval Command, Ajendra Bahadur Singh in presence of MDL CMD Vice Admiral (Retd) Narayan Prasad, Shiv Sena MLC Sachin Ahir and others.
The ship was launched at Yard 12653 of MDL. The ship was lowered into the water after a puja was performed and a national anthem was played to mark the occasion. In view of the mourning as a mark of respect to the UK’s Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on Thursday, the ceremony was formal.
This ship has been built using an integrated construction methodology which involves hull block construction in different geographical locations and integration/erection on a slipway at MDL.
The keel of “Taragiri” was laid on September 10, 2020, and the frigate is expected to be delivered by August 2025, an MDL statement said.
The vessel has been launched with a weight of approximately 3510 Tons. She is designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house design organization viz. Bureau of Naval Design. MDL carried out the detailed design and construction which was overseen by the Warship Overseeing Team (Mumbai).
The 149.02 M long and 17.8 M wide ship, is propelled by a CODOG combination of two gas turbines and 02 main diesel engines designed to achieve a speed of over 28 knots at a displacement of approximately 6670 Tons.
The steel used in hull construction of P17A frigates is indigenously developed DMR 249A which is a low carbon micro-alloy grade steel manufactured by the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).
This indigenously designed stealth frigate has state-of-the-art weapons, sensors, an advanced action information system, an integrated platform management system, world-class modular living spaces, a sophisticated power distribution system, and a host of other advanced features. It is fitted with a supersonic surface-to-surface missile system.
The ship’s air defence capability, designed to counter the threat of enemy aircraft and anti-ship cruise missiles will revolve around the vertical launch and long-range surface-to-air missile system.
Two 30 mm rapid-fire guns will provide the ship with close-in-defence capability while an SRGM Gun will enable her to provide effective naval gunfire support. Indigenously developed triple tube lightweight torpedo launchers and rocket launchers will add punch to the ship’s anti-submarine capability.
The indigenous content in P17A frigate is approx. 75% of which is a notch above its predecessors P17 Shivalik Class Ships. The ship will be integrated with a large number of indigenous equipment and machinery sourced from major industrial houses in the country as well as over 100 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
The first quarter of the current financial year of MDL kick-started with the launch of two frontline warships namely “Udaygiri”– the second Stealth Frigate of Nilgiri Class and “Surat”– the fourth Missile Destroyer of Visakhapatnam class. “Taragiri” is the third stealth frigate of the Indian Navy.
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