Context: Recently, three naval combatants INS Surat, INS Nilgiri, and INS Vaghsheer were commissioned into the Indian Navy at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about INS Surat, INS Nilgiri, INS Vaghsheer, Project 75.
About INS Nilgiri
- INS Nilgiri is the lead ship of the Project 17A stealth frigate class.
- The Nilgiri-class stealth frigate is built under the codename Project 17A.
- It is a follow-on vessel of Shivalik class or Project 17 frigates currently in service.
- INS Nilgiri is the first of seven frigates in Project 17A being built indigenously by:
- Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL)
- Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE).
- The multi-mission frigates are capable of dealing with both conventional and non-conventional threats.
- The ships are fitted with:
- supersonic surface-to-surface missile system
- Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missiles (MRSAM) system
- 76 millimetre upgraded gun
- combination of rapid-fire close-in weapon systems.
- Significance: With their versatile weapons and capabilities, these ships can play a crucial role in anti-surface, anti-air, and anti-submarine warfare.
- Note: Other six ships of this class — Himgiri, Taragiri, Udaygiri, Dunagiri, and Vindhyagiri — are at various stages of construction at MDL and GRSE.
About INS Surat
- INS Surat is the fourth and final stealth guided missile destroyer under Project 15B.
- INS Visakhapatnam, INS Mormugao, and INS Imphal have been commissioned over the past three years.
- Key Features:
- INS Surat is a guided missile destroyer with a displacement of 7,400 tonnes and overall length of 164 metres.
- INS Surat:
- is equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, including surface-to-air missiles, anti-ship missiles, and torpedoes.
- is powered by a Combined Gas and Gas (COGAG) propulsion set comprising four gas turbines, it has achieved speeds exceeding 30 knots (56 km/h) during sea trials.
- has modern sensors and communication facilities making them a key asset in network-centric warfare.
- is Indian Navy’s first Al (artificial intelligence) enabled warship, which will utilise indigenously developed Al solutions to enhance its operational efficiency manifold.
- Indigeneously built by: Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL)
- Significance: The warships have high speed and manoeuvrability, greater strike capability, and longer endurance, making them key assets in naval operations (mainly offensive).
- Note:
- Project 15A: The guided missile destroyers of the Kolkata class built under the project codenamed 15A — INS Kolkata, INS Kochi, and INS Chennai — have been commissioned into the Navy.
- Project 15B: To build an advanced variant of the Kolkata class, a contract for the construction of four more guided missile destroyers under the project codenamed 15B was signed in 2011.
About INS Vaghsheer
- The sixth and final submarine of the Scorpene-class project or Kalvari class submarine built under Project 75.
- Vaghsheer is named after a type of sandfish found in the Indian Ocean.
- Design is based on the Scorpene class submarines developed by the French defence major Naval Group, and the Spanish state-owned entity Navantia.
- Key Features:
- The submarines have Diesel Electric transmission systems.
- One of the world’s most silent and versatile diesel-electric class of submarines.
- They are attack submarines or the ‘hunter-killer’ type which are designed to target and sink adversary naval vessels.
- armed with wire-guided torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, and advanced sonar systems.
- allows for future upgrades such as integration of Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology.
- Have the capability of operating in a wide range of Naval combat including:
- anti-surface warfare and anti-submarine warfare
- intelligence gathering and surveillance
- underwater mining operations and naval mine laying.
Project 75
- Under Project 75, six Scorpene-class submarines (Kalvari class) are being constructed indigenously (at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited Mumbai) with Transfer of Technology from France.
- The project was initiated in 1997, and five submarines are currently commissioned. Submarines under Project 75 (Kalvari-class):
- INS Kalvari: Inducted in 2017
- INS Kandheri: Inducted in 2019
- INS Karanj: Inducted in 2021
- INS Vela: Inducted 2021
- INS Vagir: Inducted 2023
- INS Vagsheer: Commissioned in Jan 2025.
- Budget size: Rs 23,000 crore.
Conclusion: Addition of these three vessels was a step towards achieving the force level required for the Navy to be a formidable deterrent against any regional threats, and to bolster India’s strategic maritime influence in the Indian Ocean Region and beyond.