Mahendragiri frigate launch on Sept. 1

Mahendragiri, the last Project 17A Frigate, will be launched by Dr. Sudesh Dhankhar, wife of Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, at M/s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Mumbai on September 1.

Visakhapatnam: Mahendragiri, the last Project 17A Frigate, will be launched by Dr. Sudesh Dhankhar, wife of Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, at M/s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Mumbai on September 1.

According to a spokesman of the Navy here on Wednesday, Mahendragiri, named after a mountain peak in Eastern Ghats located in the state of Orissa, is the seventh 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. The newly christened Mahendragiri is a technologically advanced warship and stands as a symbol of India’s determination to embrace its rich naval heritage, while propelling itself towards a future of indigenous defence capabilities.

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Under the Project 17A program, a total of four ships by M/s MDL (Mazagon Dock) and three ships by M/s GRSE (Garden Reech Shipbuilders and Engineers, Kolkata) ) are under construction. The first six ships of the project have been launched so far by MDL & GRSE, between 2019-2023.

Project 17A ships have been designed in-house by Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau, the pioneer organisation for all warship design activities. Aligning with the country’s resolute commitment to ‘AatmaNirbharata’, a substantial 75 per cent of the orders for equipment and systems of Project 17A ships have been ordered on indigenous firms, including Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The launch of Mahendragiri is an apt testament to the incredible progress our Nation has made in building a self-reliant naval force, the spokesman said.