The Indian Navy has commissioned two Project 17A multi-mission stealth frigates, INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri, at the Naval Base in Visakhapatnam on 26 August. The frigates were built at different shipyards—Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. (MDL) in Mumbai and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata—marking the first simultaneous commissioning of such surface combatants in the country. Both vessels will join the Eastern Fleet.
INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri are follow-on ships of the Project 17 (Shivalik) class. They are designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau (WDB), with Udaygiri being the 100th vessel developed by the bureau. Each ship is fitted with a Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion plant, an Integrated Platform Management System, and a range of weapons and sensors. According to the Navy, approximately 75 per cent of the equipment on board is sourced from Indian manufacturers.
Udaygiri was delivered in what is described as the shortest time after launch for ships of its class, attributed to modular construction techniques. Both ships are named after decommissioned vessels that had earlier served in the Navy for over three decades.
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) supplied approximately 8,000 tonnes of critical-grade hot-rolled sheets and plates for the construction of the frigates. The steel was produced at SAIL’s Bokaro, Bhilai, and Rourkela plants. The company has previously supplied steel for vessels including INS Vikrant, INS Nilgiri, INS Ajay, INS Nistar, INS Arnala, INS Vindhyagiri, and INS Surat.
Kongsberg Maritime supplied the propulsion systems for both ships, working in partnership with MDL and GRSE.
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd., based in Mumbai, is a defence public sector undertaking engaged in the construction of warships, submarines, and offshore platforms. Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, headquartered in Kolkata, is a defence shipyard that specialises in the design and manufacture of naval vessels for the Indian Navy and Coast Guard.
