VINDHYAGIRI
- DEFENCE & SECURITY
News: President to launch advanced frigate
Vindhyagiri in Kolkata
What's
in the news?
● President
Droupadi Murmu will launch Vindhyagiri, a Project 17A frigate, at Garden Reach
Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited, Kolkata, the Indian Navy said in a
statement.
Key
takeaways:
● Under
the Project 17A programme, four ships by Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders
Limited (MDL) and three by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited
(GRSE) are under construction.
Vindhyagiri:
● Vindhyagiri,
named after the mountain range in Karnataka, is the sixth ship of the Project 17A Frigates.
● These
warships are follow-ons of the Project
17 Class Frigates (Shivalik Class), with improved stealth features,
advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems.
● ‘Vindhyagiri’,
a technologically advanced Frigate, pays a befitting tribute to the
distinguished service of its predecessor, the erstwhile INS Vindhyagiri, the
Leander Class ASW Frigate.
Significance:
● The
newly christened Vindhyagiri stands as a symbol of India's determination to
embrace its rich naval heritage
while propelling itself towards a future of indigenous defence capabilities.
● The
launch of Vindhyagiri is an apt testament to the incredible progress our Nation
has made in building a self-reliant naval force.
Go
back to basics:
Project
17 Alpha frigates:
● Project
17 Alpha frigates (P-17A) were launched by the Indian Navy in 2019.
● The
project was launched by the defence forces of India to construct a series of stealth guided-missile frigates, which
are currently being constructed by two companies - Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders
(MDL) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE).
● Project
17A ships have been designed in-house by Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau,
the pioneer organisation for all warship design activities.
Features:
● These
guided-missile frigates have been constructed with a specific stealth design,
which has radar-absorbent coatings
and is low-observable which can make
its approach undetectable for the enemies. The new technology also reduces the
infrared signals of the ship.
Frigates:
● Under
the P17A program, a total of seven ships, with four at MDL and three at GRSE
are under construction.
● The
ships have been named INS Nilgiri, INS
Himgiri, INS Udaygiri, INS Dunagiri, INS Taragiri, INS Vindhyagiri and INS
Mahendragiri after the names of hill ranges in India.
● Five
P17A Project ships have been launched so far between 2019 and 2022. These were
'Nilgiri', 'Himgiri', 'Udaygiri','Dunagiri' and Taragiri and the sixth frigate
is 'Vindhyagiri'.