President Droupadi Murmu will launch Vindhyagiri, a Project 17A frigate, at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited, Kolkata, on August 17, the Indian Navy said in a statement on Sunday.
Named after a mountain range in Karnataka, Vindhyagiri is the sixth ship of the Project 17A frigates. Under the Project 17A programme, four ships by Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and three by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) are under construction.
The project’s first five ships were launched by MDL and GRSE, between 2019-2022.
“These warships are follow-ons of the Project 17 Class Frigates (Shivalik Class), with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems,” the Navy said, adding that the technologically advanced frigate pays a befitting tribute to the distinguished service of its predecessor, the erstwhile INS Vindhyagiri, a Leander Class ASW Frigate.
INS Vindhyagiri—which was the sixth and last of the Nilgiri class frigates—in its nearly 31 years of service from 8 July 1981 to 11 June 2012, had seen many multinational exercises and performed maritime surveillance, coastal patrol and anti-piracy operations. It was decommissioned after being damaged in an accident with a merchant vessel in 2011.
“The newly christened Vindhyagiri stands as a symbol of India’s determination to embrace its rich naval heritage while propelling itself towards a future of indigenous defence capabilities,” it added.
The Project 17A ships have been designed in-house by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau. According to the Navy, as much as 75% of the orders for equipment and systems of Project 17A ships are from indigenous firms, including MSMEs.
