Another indigenous warship joins Navy

NEW DELHI: Another indigenous multi-role stealth frigate, Himgiri, was delivered to the Navy Thursday that will boost country's blue-water combat capabilities. This is the second such stealth warship to be handed over to the force this month.

The 6,670-tonne Himgiri has been built by the Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), while her predecessor Udaygiri was handed over by the Mumbai-based Mazagon Docks (MDL) on July 1. Both the warships are slated to be commissioned together towards end-August.


The 149-metre long Himgiri is the third of the seven frigates being constructed under Project-17A, four at MDL in Mumbai and three at GRSE in Kolkata, at an overall cost of Rs 45,000 crore. The first was commissioned as INS Nilgiri in Jan, while the remaining four are to be progressively delivered by end-2026.

All these multi-mission frigates are packed with advanced sensors and weapons, including the BrahMos supersonic precision-strike cruise missiles whose range has been extended to 450-km from the original 290-km, and "designed to address current and future challenges in the maritime domain", an officer said.

For air defence, the frigates are equipped with Israeli-origin Barak-8 surface-to-air missile system, with an interception range of 70km against fighters, helicopters, drones and cruise missiles, among other weapons.

"These frigates reflect a quantum leap in naval design, stealth, firepower, automation and survivability, and are an admirable symbol of aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) in warship building," the officer said.

Overall, the 140-warship Navy has 58 ships and vessels under construction in Indian shipyards for over Rs 1.2 lakh crore, while another 31 warships are in the planning stage. This naval expansion is crucial to tackle the maritime collusiveness between Pakistan and China, which is making major strategic inroads into the Indian Ocean Region with the world's largest naval force of 370 warships.
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