INDIA. Mumbai: “INS Vindhyagiri”, the sixth of seven ships built under “Project 17 Alpha” for the Indian Navy, was launched by President Droupadi Murmu at Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd’s (GRSE) facility on the banks of Hooghly River in Kolkata, on Thursday.
Among the dignitaries present were West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt, Chief of the Naval Staff R Harikumar, and others.
“The security in the Indian Ocean Region and the larger Indo-Pacific has many aspects. The Indian Navy, which always remains proactive in tackling security threats, has the mandate to protect, preserve, and promote India’s maritime interests”, Murmu said in her speech.
In the years 2019 to 2022, Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai and (GRSE) launched the project’s first five ships.
“INS Nilgiri,” “Udaygiri,” “Himgiri,” “Taragiri,” and “Dunagiri,” her predecessors, are named after mountain ranges in Karnataka. The same goes for “Vindhyagiri.”
P17A ships are guided 149-meter-long missile frigates with a speed of 28 knots and a tonnage of roughly 6,670 tonnes. Threats in the three dimensions of the air, surface, and subsurface can be neutralised by them.
“INS Vindhyagiri” is equipped with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors, as well as platform management systems. The state-of-the-art ship will be fitted with the latest gadgets in “INS Vindhyagiri”, and she will undergo extensive trials before being handed over to the Indian Navy for commissioning into service.
The Warship Design Bureau of the Indian Navy created Project 17A ships internally. 75 percent of the equipment and system orders for Project 17A ships come from indigenous companies, including MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises). The full 4000 Tonnes of Special Steel for “INS Vindhyagiri” were provided by the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL).
Previously, the Nilgiri-class frigate “INS Vindhyagiri,” which was launched on July 8, 1981, was decommissioned on June 11, 2012. A technologically upgraded frigate, the new INS Vindhyagiri, pays due respect to the outstanding service of its predecessor. The old Vindhyagiri had been present for a number of difficult operations and international training exercises.
The new “Vindhyagiri” represents India’s resolve to honour its historic naval legacy while advancing towards a future of homegrown defence capabilities, as per the Indian Navy.
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