Indian Navy gets indigenous stealth frigate INS Mahendragiri

The Indian Navy received indigenous stealth frigate INS Mahendragiri, a Project 17A warship built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, marking a major milestone in India’s self-reliance in advanced naval design and shipbuilding

New Delhi: Indigenous stealth frigate Mahendragiri, endowed with a potent weapon system and a cutting-edge sensor suite, has been delivered to the Indian Navy, officials said on Friday. The sixth ship of the Nilgiri-class (Project 17A) was delivered on April 30 at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDSL), Mumbai. The delivery marks a “significant milestone” in achieving self-reliance in warship design and construction, the officials said.

“Project 17A frigates are versatile multi-mission platforms designed to address current and emerging challenges in the maritime domain. This state-of-the-art frigate reflects a quantum leap in naval design, stealth, firepower, automation, and survivability, and stands as an admirable symbol of Aatmanirbharta in warship building,” the defence ministry said in a statement.

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Mahendragiri — Yard 12654 — is the fourth ship of this class built at MDSL. Designed by the Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and overseen by the Warship Overseeing Team (Mumbai), P17A frigates reflect a “generational leap” in indigenous ship design, stealth, survivability, and combat capability.

Driven by the philosophy of integrated construction, the ship was built and delivered within envisaged timelines, the officials said. P17A ships are fitted with an advanced weapon and sensor suite as compared to the P17 (Shivalik-class), they said.

“These ships are configured with Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion plants, comprising a diesel engine and a gas turbine that drive a Controllable Pitch Propeller (CPP) on each shaft, and a state-of-the-art Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS). The potent weapon and sensor suite comprises anti-surface, anti-air, and anti-submarine warfare systems,” the statement said. Mahendragiri is the sixth P17A ship to be delivered to the Navy in the span of less than 17 months from the delivery of the first P17A frigate (Nilgiri) by MDSL on December 20, 2024.

Delivery of Mahendragiri showcases the design, shipbuilding, and engineering prowess of the nation, and reflects the Navy’s unrelenting focus on Aatmanirbharta in both ship design and shipbuilding, the officials said.

With an indigenous content of 75 per cent, the project has involved over 200 MSMEs at MDSL and has enabled employment generation of approximately 4,000 personnel directly and more than 10,000 personnel indirectly, it said. Indigenous stealth frigate Taragiri, the fourth ship of Nilgiri-class, endowed with the cutting-edge weapon suite including supersonic missiles, was earlier commissioned into the Indian Navy on April 3.

Dunagiri, the fifth ship of the class, and second of these frigates built at Garden Reach Shipbuilding and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), was delivered to the Navy on March 30 at GRSE, Kolkata, marking a major milestone in achieving self-reliance in warship design and construction.