NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy received the delivery of Yard 12652, Udaygiri, the second ship of Project 17A stealth frigate, being built at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDSL), on Tuesday.
Under the Project, a follow-on of the Shivalik class (Project 17) frigates active in service, Udaygiri is the second among the seven P17A frigates under construction at MDL, Mumbai and GRSE, Kolkata. These multi-mission frigates are capable of operating in a ‘Blue Water’ environment dealing with both conventional and non-conventional threats in the area of India’s Maritime Interests, a statement from the Naval spokesperson stated.
Udaygiri is being promoted as the modern avatar of its predecessor, erstwhile INS Udaygiri a Steam Ship, decommissioned in August 2007 after rendering 31 years of service.
The updated version comes with enhanced stealth features and is fitted with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, a significant upgrade from the P17 class. The ships represent a quantum leap in the Indian Navy’s in-house design capabilities at the Warship Design Bureau. The newly designed ships are also being built employing the philosophy of ‘Integrated Construction’, which involves extensive pre-outfitting at the Block stages to reduce the overall build periods. Udaygiri has been delivered to the Indian Navy, in a record time of 37 months from the date of launching, the statement added.
The hull of P17A ships is geo-symmetrically larger by 4.54 percent as compared to its predecessor. These ships are fitted with an advanced weapon and sensors suite with enhanced ‘sleek and stealthy’ features compared to the P 17 class. The ships are configured with Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) main propulsion plants, comprising a Diesel Engine and Gas turbine, driving a Controllable Pitch Propeller (CPP) on each shaft and a state-of-the-art Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS). The weapon suite comprises supersonic Surface-to-Surface missile system, a Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile system, 76 mm Gun, and a combination of 30 mm and 12.7 mm rapid-fire close-in Weapon Systems.
Further, the warship is fitted with major weapons and sensors sourced from indigenous OEMs. The remaining five ships of the P 17A Class are at various stages of construction at MDL, Mumbai and GRSE, Kolkata and would be delivered progressively by the end of 2026, the statement read.
Agencies