MDL's Project 17A stealth frigate 'Mahendragiri' to be launched on September 1

The fourth stealth guided missile frigate of Project 17A 'Mahendragiri' will be launched in Mumbai on September 1, marking a major step in India’s defence indigenisation programme.

A Nilgiri-class frigate - Mahendragiri - is expected to be commissioned into the Indian Navy in 2027.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar would be the chief guest on the occasion.

The ship is being built by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai.

The MDL involves four ships of the class - Nilgiri, Udaygiri, Taragiri and Mahendragiri.

The lead ship of the class, Nilgiri was launched on 28 September 2019 and it is expected to be commissioned in 2024.

Udaygiri was launched on 17 May 2022, while Taragiri was launched on 11 September 2022.

Mahendragiri, whose keel was laid on 28 June 2022 is being launched on 1 September 2023.

Udaygiri, Taragiri and Mahendragiri are expected to be commissioned in 2025, 2026 and 2027, respectively.

There other ships of Nilgiri-class are being made at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd in Kolkata.

These are Himgiri, Dunagiri and Vindhyagiri, which were launched on 14 December 2020, 15 July 2022 and 17 August 2023, respectively and are due for commissioning in 2025-2026.

These ships are designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house design organization, Bureau of Naval Design.

The 149.02 M long and 17.8 M wide ship, propelled by a CODOG combination of two Gas Turbines and 02 Main Diesel Engines which are designed to achieve a speed of over 28 knots at a displacement of approx. 6670 tons.

The steel used in hull construction of P17A frigates is indigenously developed DMR 249A which is a low carbon micro alloy grade steel manufactured by SAIL. The indigenously designed ships will have state-of-the-art weapons, sensors, an advanced action information system, an integrated platform management system, world class modular living spaces, sophisticated power distribution system and a host of other advanced features. It will be fitted with a supersonic surface-to- surface missile system.

The ship’s air defence capability, designed to counter the threat of enemy aircraft and anti-ship cruise missiles will revolve around the vertical launch and long range surface to air missile system. Two 30 mm rapid-fire guns will provide the ship with close-in-defence capability while an SRGM Gun will enable her to provide effective naval gunfire support. Indigenously developed triple tube light weight torpedo launchers and rocket launchers will add punch to the ship’s anti-submarine capability.