Indian Navy set to commission INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri at Visakhapatnam on August 26

New Delhi: Amid China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean region, the Indian Navy is set to commission two new stealth warships on Tuesday packing more punch to the force’s ability to strike and further augment navy’s monitoring of critical sea lanes of communications.

Stealth frigates INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri will be inducted in the Service at Visakhapatnam and post commissioning they will be a part of the Eastern Naval Command.

This will be the first time that two major surface combatants from two Indian shipyards are being commissioned at the same time. Manufactured by Mazagon Dock Ltd, Mumbai, INS Udaygiri is second of the four P-17A frigates that the MDL has made.

INS Himgiri, on the other hand, was constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Kolkata.

Together, the two shipyards constructed seven stealth frigates under Project-17A at a cost of over Rs 45,000 crore as a complement to Shivalik class frigates.

“Udaygiri and Himgiri represent a generational leap over earlier designs. Displacing about 6,700 tons, the P-17A frigates are roughly 5% larger than their predecessor Shivalik-class frigates and yet incorporate a sleeker form, with a reduced radar cross section,” said an official.

They are powered by Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion plants using diesel engines and gas turbines that drive controllable-pitch propellers and are managed through an Integrated Platform Management System.

The weapon suite includes supersonic Brahmos cruise missile, medium range surface-to-air Barak missiles, 76 mm MR Gun and a combination of 30 mm and 12.7 mm close-in weapon systems, and the anti-submarine/ underwater weapon systems.

The first warship of this class INS Nilgiri, manufactured by MDL, was commissioned in January and the remaining four – to be named INS Mahendragiri, Taragiri, Dunagiri and Vindhyagiri – are undergoing trials and would be inducted by by next year.

The commissioning of Udayagiri and Himgiri follows induction of destroyer INS Surat, frigate INS Nilgiri, submarine INS Vaghsheer, Anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft INS Arnala, and Diving Support Vessel INS Nistar, all in 2025 alone.

“Rigorous sea trials have validated the frigates' hull, machinery, firefighting, damage control, navigation and communication systems, ensuring they are ready for operational deployment,” officials said.