On December 14, 2020, the 2nd ship of Project 17A class of stealth frigates, namely, Indian Naval Ship (INS) Himgiri, built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) was launched at its facility in Kolkata (West Bengal). The chief guest of the launch ceremony was General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) while the INS was launched by spouse of CDS, Smt Madhulika Rawat as a part of the naval traditions.
- It should be noted that it is the 1st ship built by GRSE as a part of Rs 19,294 crore contract for construction of the three stealth frigates by August 2023 under Project 17A. Also, the P17A ships are the first gas turbine propulsion and largest combat platforms ever built at GRSE.
- The name “Himgiri” is taken from second the Frigate of the Leander Class of ships “INS Himgiri (F34)”, which was launched 50 years ago in 1970 and decommissioned in 2005.
About Project 17A:
Project 17A was launched in 2015 by Government of India.The Project 17A program also called Nilgiri class includes a construction of seven ships, four at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and three ships at GRSE with enhanced stealth features with advanced indigenous weapon and sensor fit among other improvements. It succeeds Project 17 Shivalik-class frigate.
- The first ship under this project was INS Nilgiri, launched in 2017.
- These ships have been indigenously designed by Directorate of Naval Design (Surface Ship Design Group) – DND (SSG).
- P17A ships are guided missile frigates, each of which is 149 metres long, with displacement of approximately 6,670 tonnes, a speed of 28 knots and range of 5,500 nautical miles.
- Frigates will be equipped with 127mm main gun, two 30 mm AK-630M anti-aircraft artillery systems, two torpedo tubes, Barak 8 long range surface-to-air missile (LR-SAM), BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, EL/M-2248 MF-STAR multi-function active electronically scanned array (AESA) naval radar system, Ajanta electronic warfare (EW) system and HUMSA-NG sonar. Its main radar will be the MF-STAR by IAI.
- This project is at par with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat as 80% of the material and equipment are sourced from indigenous vendors along with employment generation for over 2000 Indian firms.
Names of Upcoming INS under Project 17A:
INS Udaygiri, INS Dunagiri, INS Taragiri, INS Vindhyagiri, and INS Mahendragiri
Recent Related News:
i.On November 2, 2020, Indian Naval Ship (INS) Airavat entered Port Sudan with 100 Tonnes of Food aid as part of Mission Sagar-II. Under Mission ‘SAGAR’ Indian government is providing assistance to Friendly Foreign Countries to overcome natural calamities and COVID-19 pandemic.
ii.The Myanmar Navy is all set to receive its first submarine namely INS Sindhuvir, a Kilo class submarine which will be handed over by India under its vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region) to provide guaranteed security for all maritime partners.
About Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE):
Establishment– 1934
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD)- Rear Admiral V K Saxena
Headquarter– Kolkata, West Bengal
