Giving a boost to indigenisation in warship building, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday launched a stealth frigate Y-3023 Dunagiri, Project 17-A frigate built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders Limited (GRSE) in Kolkata.
Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and other senior officers attended the ceremony. The P17-A frigates are a follow-on class of the P17 (Shivalik Class) Frigates with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems.
Seven P17-A frigates are under various stages of construction at the Mazagaon Dock Limited (MDL), Mumbai and the GRSE. Speaking on the occasion, Rajnath said 'Dunagiri' would be a world class stealth frigate with multidimensional capabilities to destroy enemies from sea, sky, and underwater. Dunagiri is the fourth frigate.
He also said security challenges in the Indian Ocean region and Indo-Pacific are constantly increasing. In order to achieve the Prime Minister's Vision of 'SAGAR', i.e. 'Security and Growth for All in the Region' and to protect, preserve and promote India's national maritime interests, Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and other organisations have to increase the infrastructure and assets so that the country stay ahead of the curve in dealing with these challenges, the defence minister said.
The Navy chief said in all future shipbuilding contracts of the Navy, 88 per cent of them on cost basis, amounting to investments of nearly Rs 1,75,000 Crore, are being progressed through Indian enterprises.
This means that for every Rs 10 Crore spent on capital procurement, Rs nine Crore is invested back into our economy, the Navy chief said.
In addition, 29 Indian original equipment manufacturers along with Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) across the country are contributing to this project, he added. Kala Hari Kumar, wife of Admiral Kumar and President, Navy Wives Welfare Association performed the traditional honours and named the ship Dunagiri after which it was launched into the Hooghly river. It is christened after a mountain range in the state of Uttarakhand, ‘Dunagiri’ and is the reincarnation of the erstwhile ‘Dunagiri’, the Leander Class Anti-Submarine Warfare frigate, which was in service from May 05, 1977 to October 20, 2010.
Seven ships are under construction under P-17A, four at Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and three at GRSE. While the first two P-17A ships were launched in 2019 and 2020 at MDL and GRSE respectively, the third ship, Udaygiri, was launched at MDL in May this year.
Last month, the keel for the seventh P-17A frigate was laid at MDL. Keel Laying is a major milestone symbolising formal commencement of the erection process of warships on the building berth.