Indian Navy Launched Mahendragiri Last Stealth Frigate Under Project 17 A

This is the seventh warship of Project 17A. The project’s frigates are a follow-on to the Project 17 (Shivalik class) frigates, with improved stealth features. On 2nd September 2023 it is launched by Vice President of India.

INS Mahendragiri- Why In News

Indian Navy’s latest warship ‘Mahendragiri’ was launched by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s wife Sudesh Dhankhar at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai on Friday, officals said. The project is the seventh warship of Project 17A.

Curtain Raiser: Launch Of Y – 12654 (Mahendragiri) 

• Mahendragiri, named after a mountain peak in Eastern Ghats located in the state of Orissa, is the seventh ship of the Project 17A Frigates. These warships are follow-ons of the Project 17 Class Frigates (Shivalik Class), with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors.
• Under the Project 17A program, a total of four ships by M/s MDL and three ships by M/s GRSE are under construction. The first six ships of the project have been launched so far by MDL & GRSE, between 2019-2023.

Design 

• Project 17A ships have been designed in-house by Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau, the pioneer organization for all warship design activities. Aligning with the country’s resolute commitment to ‘AatmaNirbharata’, a substantial 75% of the orders for equipment and systems of Project 17A ships have been ordered on indigenous firms, including MSMEs.

Here are the top points on the warship:

• The warship has a length 149 metre, a width of 17.8 metre, and will have a top speed of 28 knots, the officials said.
• Mahendragiri is the last stealth frigate of Project 17A – four warships are being built at Mazagon Dock and the rest at Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, under the project.
• All Project 17A warships are currently in different stages of construction and are expected to be delivered to the navy from 2024-26. The warships have a displacement of 6,670 tonne.
• A warship’s launch marks a significant milestone in its construction and refers to the vessel entering the water for the first time. In a statement, the Navy said, “The newly christened Mahendragiri is a technologically advanced warship and stands as a symbol of India’s determination to embrace its rich naval heritage while propelling itself towards a future of indigenous defence capabilities.”
• This launch comes at a time when self-reliance in defence is a top priority for the government, and when the power dynamics in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) are changing with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) making concerted efforts to increase its footprint.

Project 17A  

• Project 17 Alpha frigates (P-17A) were launched by the Indian Navy in 2019 to construct a series of stealth guided-missile frigates.
• These are currently being constructed by two companies – Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE).
• These guided-missile frigates have been constructed with a specific stealth design, which has radar-absorbent coatings and is low-observable which can make its approach undetectable for the enemies.
• The new technology also reduces the infrared signals of the ship.

Total 7 Ships Are 

• Nilgiri
• Udaygiri
• Taragiri
• Mahendragiri
• Himgiri
• Dunagiri
• Vindhyagiri