Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai, May 17: Two indigenous frontline warships built by the Indian Navy will be unveiled today at the Mazagon Docks in Mumbai in the presence of Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, bolstering India’s already strong marine arsenal.
The frontline warships ‘Surat’ (project 15B Destroyer) and ‘Udaygiri’ (Project 17A Frigate) are “next generation stealth guided missiles destroyers”, said the defence ministry in an official statement.
“Both 15B and P17A ships have been designed in-house by the Directorate of Naval Design (DND), which has been the fountainhead for all warship design activities of the nation,” the statement added.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will launch the Indian Navy destroyer warship INS Surat and frigate INS Udaygiri in Mumbai today pic.twitter.com/Th7klV7ogA
— ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2022
The ministry noted that indigenous firms, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), received over 75% of the orders for equipment and systems for the battleships, a real evidence of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
The destroyer ship ‘Surat’ is part of Project 15B and is one of India’s largest destroyers. The ship, named after Western India’s second-largest commercial hub, was built utilising block construction, which entails the hull being manufactured in two different geographical sites and then assembled at Mazagon Docks Limited.
The third ship of Project 17A Frigates is the ‘Udaygiri’ (Frigate), named after the Andhra Pradesh mountain ranges. Advanced weapons, sensors, and platform management systems are included. This warship is the reincarnation of a previous version of Udaygiri, which served for three decades, from 18 February 1976 to 24 August 2007, and saw various hard operations.
According to the defence ministry, more than 50 ships and submarines are currently under construction, with the Indian Navy having roughly 150 ships and submarines. In December 2021, Indian Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar claimed on ‘Atmanirbharta’ that India constructed all 28 ships and submarines commissioned into the Navy in the previous seven years.
