India Commissions Two Multi-mission Stealth Frigates, Navy Strengthened to Face China’s Challenges

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Aug 26: The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday commissioned two multi-mission stealth frigates, INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri, at the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy at Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

The two ‘made-in-India’ warships are a part of the Project 17 Alpha (P-17A). Udaygiri and Himgiri come from the Indian Navy’s latest state-of-the-art Project 17-A and the commissioning marks the first occasion when two frontline surface combatants constructed at two different shipyards were commissioned simultaneously.

The lead vessel, INS Nilgiri, was commissioned earlier this year. The Himgiri and Udaygiri are largely homegrown – with over 75 per cent indigenous content – and represent a big boost to the government’s ‘aatmanirbharta’, or self-reliance, push in defence manufacturing and capabilities.

This is the first time two major warships from two prestigious shipyards are being commissioned at the same time; Himgiri was built Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers in Kolkata and Udaygiri by Mumbai’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders. Sources said the dual commissioning showed India’s growing shipbuilding prowess and synergy between premier defence shipyards. With this, India now also has a three-frigate squadron demonstrating the country’s industrial-technological capability and regional power balance by indigenous capability.

Udaygiri and Himgiri are follow-on ships of the Project 17 (Shivalik) class frigates, and both the vessels incorporate significant improvements in design, stealth, weapon and sensor systems, capable of executing a full spectrum of maritime missions in ‘blue water’ conditions, according to Defence officials.

Speaking at the commissioning of two stealth frigates, Mr Rajnath Singh said India needs to keep its maritime preparedness strong due to security challenges from the eastern side of the country and the “power play” dynamics in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). “When we look towards the eastern side, we see similar security challenges there as well.”

“The power play unfolding in the Indian Ocean repeatedly alerts us. The interests of many countries clash here, and for this reason, we too need to keep our maritime preparedness strong,” he added. “If we talk about the western region of India, we see various types of naval activities in the area from the Arabian Sea to the Middle East, and the Eastern Africa seaboard. The geo-strategic situation here is such that it has the capacity to directly impact our economic development.”

The Defence Minister said India’s energy requirements, like oil and natural gas, largely depend on the security of the Indian Ocean Region, adding that the role of the Navy was not limited to just patrolling in the seas, but as a major pillar of India’s national economic security.

Singh further said India did not aim to display its naval strength and did not believe in aggressive expansionism, but it would not back down when its security was threatened. “The whole world knows that we have never attacked any country first. We have never tried to provoke anyone.”

“Not many days have passed since that cowardly attack in Pahalgam. Terrorists killed innocent people after asking about their religion. That attack on our innocent citizens was carried out to provoke us. Without getting provoked, after much thought, we gave an effective and precise Response. We decided to destroy terrorist hideouts by launching Operation Sindoor and did it,” he stated.

“Our country has repeatedly shown that when a challenge arises, we stand united to face it and emerge victorious. National unity, discipline, sacrifice and dedication are our true strength. The entire country is united against terrorism under the leadership of PM Modi.”

Mr Singh also said it was important for India to keep itself updated and look for new solutions in the present evolving nature of warfare. “Old thinking won’t work today. We also need to anticipate new threats and keep thinking of new solutions. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, our government has understood this too and has given priority to research and development in the defence sector,” he said.

With the commissioning of the two multi-mission stealth frigates, India now also has a three-frigate squadron demonstrating the country’s industrial-technological capability and regional power balance by indigenous capability. An official statement said Udaygiri and Himgiri contain big improvements in design, stealth, weapon and sensor systems, and were capable of executing a full spectrum of maritime missions. Their commissioning augments the Navy’s combat readiness, the official statement said.

Udaygiri also holds the distinction of being the fastest ship in this class to be delivered post-launch, a result of the modular construction methodology adopted by Indian shipyards. Both were designed by the Navy’s Warship Design Bureau; in fact, Udaygiri is the 100th ship to be designed by the WDB. And they have been named for predecessors that served the nation with distinction for over 30 years before being recently decommissioned. Post-commissioning, the two frigates will join the Eastern Fleet, strengthening India’s ability to safeguard its maritime interests across the Indian Ocean Region.

The two ships represent a generational leap over earlier designs. Displacing about 6,700 tons each, the P-17A frigates are roughly five per cent larger than the earlier Shivalik-class frigates but incorporate a sleeker form and a reduced radar cross-section.

INS Udaygiri is 149 meters long with a top speed of 28 knots, i.e., about 52 km per hour. Its weapons include 48 Barak-8 missiles and eight BrahMos supersonic missiles and can operate two helicopters. The ship was powered by diesel engines and gas turbines that drive controllable-pitch propellers and are managed through an integrated management interface.

INS Himgiri is also of the same length, weight, top speed like Udaygiri and can also carry two helicopters. Its weapons include 32 Barak-8 missiles and eight BrahMos supersonic missiles and also has the Mareech torpedo decoy system

Each of the ships also carries other weapons, including 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, as well as anti-submarine/underwater weapon systems.

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 such a situation, the Nilgiri class frigates would act as a strong deterrent for India. Officials said 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.

Udaygiri’s construction time was the shortest of any frontline warship, being delivered just 37 months, or just over three years, from the date of launch. In a first for Indian frontline warships, instead of the entire hull being built as one piece, thereby occupying drydock space, it was built in modules (slices) and then integrated. This method speeds up construction dramatically and allows shipyards to outsource the construction of individual pieces.

The ships can have eight BrahMos on board, but with a provision for eight more, which may happen as an after-fit. Both ships can carry 16 Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missiles (MRSAM), but have provisions for more with some modifications, which are likely to be made.

The two vessels are also the quietest frontline warships ever built by India, which was a major demand by the Navy, since they are meant for anti-submarine operations too. Udaygiri and Himgiri sport flush decks with minimal protrusions, dramatically increasing stealth features and making them harder to spot.

Both stealth frigates sport an Integrated Indian Combat Management System which interlinks systems from different countries – Israeli primary radar, Spanish air search radar, Indo-Russian anti-ship missiles, Indo-Israeli air defence systems, Russian close-in-weapon systems, Italian deck guns and American helicopters, among others.