On 31 July, 2025, the Indian Navy(IN) received the ‘Indian Naval Ship (INS) Himgiri (Yard 3022)’, the third stealth frigate of the Nilgiri-class (Project 17A) series. The vessel was built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) and officially handed over to the IN in Kolkata, West Bengal (WB).
- The Nilgiri class warship was accepted by Rear Admiral Ravnish Seth, Chief Staff Officer (Technical), Eastern Naval Command, on behalf of the IN.
Exam Hints:
- What: IN received its 3rd Nilgiri-class stealth frigate
- Ship Name: INS Himgiri (Project 17A – 3rd ship)
- Built by: GRSE
- Designed by: Warship Design Bureau (WDB), IA
- Indigenous Content: 75%
- Armament: BrahMos missiles, Barak 8 (LR-SAM), Torpodes, Main gun(127 mm), two AK-630M anti-aircraft artillery systems (30mm)
- Technology used: MF-STAR main radar, AESA radar, Ajanta EW system, HUMSa-NG sonar
- Previous INS Himgiri: Name derived from INS Himgiri (F34),decommissioned in 2005.
About INS Himgiri:
Background: The INS Himgiri built as a part of an Rs. 21,833 Crore contract to GRSE for the construction of 3 Stealth Frigates under Project 17a for the IN.
- The ship was first launched on 14 December 2020.
Legacy of the Name: The name “Himgiri” is taken from the INS Himgiri(F34), a Leander-class Frigate which was decommissioned in 2005.
Design: The ship was designed by the Warship Design Bureau (WDB) of the IN.
Specifications: It is equipped with a Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion system that drives a Controllable Pitch Propeller(CPP) on each shaft.
- Dimensions: It is 149 metres(m) long, 17.8 m beam and has a weight displacement of 6670 tonnes.
- Speed: It has a maximum speed of 28 knots (52 kilometres per hour, kmph) with a range of 5500 nautical miles.
- Armaments: It is a state-of-the-art Nilgiri class frigate with diverse firepower and weapons systems, including,
- It has 8 BrahMos anti-ship and land attack cruise missiles and 32 Barak 8 ( Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile, LR-SAM) missiles with Vertical Launch System(VLS).
- It is also equipped with 76 millimeter(mm) main gun and 2 AK-630M Close range weapons systems.
- It is also equipped with an Anti-Submarine Warfare(ASW) system, including Torpedoes and RBU-6000 ASW Rocket Launchers.
- Sensors & Radars: It includes MF-STAR Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar as the main radar system, along with BEL HUMSA sonars and Ajanta Electronic Warfare(EW) systems.
- It also has Hal Dhruv and Sea King Mk 42B helicopters on board the frigate.
Indigenous Contribution: It is a 75% indigenously built Atmanirbhar Bharat system by over 2000 Indian firms with equipment.
About Project 17a:
Project 17A or Project 17 Alpha Frigates is a project approved by the Government of India(GoI) for constructing seven warships and frigates for the Indian Navy.
- Under Project 17A, 3 ships are constructed by GRSE, and 4 ships are constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) for the IN.
- The First ship of Project 17a, INS Nilgiri, which was built by MDL, was delivered to the IN in December 2024.
- As of July 2025, the IN has received three out of the seven Nilgiri-class frigates under Project 17A: INS Nilgiri, INS Udaygiri, and INS Himgiri.
About Indian Navy(IN):
Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) – Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi
Headquarters –New Delhi, Delhi.
Established- 1950
