INS Udaygiri, Himgiri: The Stealth Frigates To Be Commissioned Tomorrow

The Indian Navy is set to commission two Nilgiri-class stealth guided-missile frigates - INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri - simultaneously on August 26 at Vishakhapatnam, the Ministry of Defence said. The two made-in-India warships are a part of the Project 17 Alpha (P-17A) under which the lead vessel, INS Nilgiri, was commissioned earlier this year.

This is the first time that the two major surface combatants from two prestigious Indian Shipyards are being commissioned at the same time. With this, India will have a three-frigate squadron demonstrating the country's industrial-technological capability and regional power balance by indigenous capability.

According to the Centre, the two missiles represent a generational leap over earlier designs. Displacing about 6,700 tons, the P-17A frigates are roughly five per cent larger than their predecessor Shivalik-class frigates and yet incorporate a sleeker form, with a reduced radar cross-section.

They are powered by Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion plants using diesel engines and gas turbines that drive controllable-pitch propellers and are managed through an Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS). The weapon suite includes supersonic surface-to-surface missiles, medium-range surface-to-air missiles, a 76 mm MR Gun, and a combination of 30 mm and 12.7 mm close-in weapon systems, and anti-submarine/underwater weapon systems, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

It further mentioned that both ships are the result of an industrial ecosystem spanning over 200 MSMEs, supporting approximately 4,000 direct jobs and more than 10,000 indirect jobs.

INS Udaygiri has been built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai and is the 100th ship designed by the Navy's Warship Design Bureau.

INS Himgiri is the first of the P-17A ships being constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata.

Role in the Indo-Pacific and maritime security

The key challenge for India is China's growing maritime expansion, which has established its hold in Gwadar (Pakistan), Hambantota (Sri Lanka), Chittagong (Bangladesh), and Djibouti under the "string of pearls" policy in the Indian Ocean. In such a situation, the Nilgiri class frigates would act as a strong deterrent for India.

Officials said that the frigates would not only protect the sea trade routes, but also make India's naval presence credible in the Indian Ocean region from the Strait of Malacca to Africa.

"The forthcoming ceremony at Visakhapatnam will thus be more than a naval ritual; it will be a celebration of India's journey towards a robust and self-sufficient maritime defence ecosystem. As the nation watches the two grey hulls take their place in the fleet, the message will be clear: India's oceans are guarded by ships built in India, designed by Indians and staffed by Indians - a true embodiment of the Make in India initiative and a beacon of the country's rising maritime power," the Ministry of Defence said.