TSAMTO, August 18. The Ministry of Defense of India announced the launching ceremony of the sixth frigate of the Project-17A class (P-17A), Vindhyagiri (factory number Yard 3024), held on August 17 at the GRSE shipyard.
The event was held in the presence of the country's President Draupadi Murmu.
After launching, the Vindhyagiri was towed to the mooring wall, where its completion and testing will be carried out, along with two previously launched ships of the series.
As reported by TSAMTO, the Indian Defense Ministry announced the signing of contracts for the supply of seven Project-17A frigates on February 20, 2015. The total cost of the ships is estimated at 480 billion. The frigates are to be built by two state-owned shipbuilding companies: Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) in Mumbai and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) in Kolkata. MDL acts as the lead shipyard and will build four frigates, GRSE – three. The cost of the contract for the construction of three frigates at the GRSE shipyard was 192.94 billion. rupees. This is the largest order ever received by the company.
Steel cutting for the lead ship of the series, "Nilgiri", began at MDL on February 17, 2017, the keel laying took place in December 2017. The frigate was launched on September 28, 2019. The second ship, the Udaygiri, was launched by MDL in May 2022, and the third, the Taragiri, in September 2022. The laying of the keel of the fourth ship took place in June 2022. It is assumed that he will receive the name "Mahendragiri".
The laying of the keel of the first frigate, (F 41) "Himgiri", took place at the GRSE enterprise in Kolkata on November 10, 2018. In December 2020, it was launched. The keel of the second frigate, the Dunagiri, was laid in January 2020, and the third, the Vindhyagiri, in March 2021. The Dunagiri was launched in July 2022.
It was originally planned that MDL would deliver its ships to the Indian Navy in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025, and GRSE in 2023, 2024 and 2025. However, the program is behind schedule and deliveries are likely to begin in 2024.
The Nilgiri frigate is an improved version of the Shivalik-class frigate built within the framework of the "Project-17" and will differ from it by improved stealth indicators, as well as weapons and detection systems of national production. The length of the ship will be 149 m, width – 17.8 m, displacement – 6670 tons, crew – 226 people. The frigates will be equipped with a CODOG (combined diesel or gas) type main power plant, including two General Electric LM2500 gas turbine engines and a pair of MAN 12V28/33D STC diesel engines, will be able to reach a speed of 28 knots, a range of 5,500 nautical miles. The ship's armament will include 127-mm AU Oto Melara, SAM "Barak-8", radar ELM-2248, 8 supersonic PKR "Brahmos" (PJ-10), two three-tube 324-mm torpedo tubes, two 30-mm ZAK AK-630, two RBU-6000 rocket launchers.
