Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will be launching the “Dunagiri” the second P 17A Frigate constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) on 15 Jul 22. This ship is 2nd of 3 Advanced Frigates of prestigious Project 17A. The ‘Naming Ceremony’ of the ship will be performed by Kala Hari Kumar, wife of Admiral R Hari Kumar, the Chief of Naval Staff. The event will be attended by Admiral R Hari Kumar, the Chief Of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta,FOC-in-C Eastern Naval Command, Lt Gen RP Kalita GOC-in-C Eastern Command and other Senior Officials of Indian Armed Forces. The Launch symbolises the ship’s birth as she makes her first contact with water. The ceremony will be conducted in true maritime Indian traditions with the ship being floated out of her building dock.
Seven Frigates under P17A class are being constructed of which four are being constructed at MDL and three in GRSE with MDL as lead yard on the basic design created by the Directorate of Naval Design, Indian Navy. An intelligent PDM PLM system is also being implemented to manage the project and aid in its life cycle management. The ships are being built using indigenously developed steel and fitted with weapons and sensors along with Integrated Platform Management System. The construction of these vessels is a major boost for Aatma Nirbhar Bharat and India’s Make in India commitment with orders for equipment and systems on indigenous firms including MSMEs amounting to indigenous content to the order of 75%.
Construction of P17A ships differ in the very concept of warship building by way of adoption of the modern technology ‘Integrated Construction (IC)’ where the blocks are pre-outfitted before joining to reduce the build period of warships. The first ship of the series, “INS Himgiri” was launched in 14 Dec 20, and is presently undergoing the ‘outfitting’ phase. With this launch, GRSE is entering into the maiden effort of outfitting and installing Brahmos SSM, MFSTAR antenna and LRSAM SAM that takes the shipyard into the league of building capital stealth ships for the nation. Despite the impact of COVID second and third waves, the vessel construction moved on schedule and the ship is progressing with work as per the target dates. These ships are equipped with 04 x 01 MW capacity Diesel Alternators supplied by GRSE Diesel Engine Plant, Ranchi and are the first-ever Indian origin Military-grade, Naval Shock Standards and Stealth Regime compliant DAs.
With a length of 149 meters, a displacement of over 6670 T, and a cutting-edge CODOG Propulsion system that allows for speeds of over 28 knots, P17A ships will be the most modern, cutting-edge Guided Missile Frigates in the Indian Navy’s fleet. These sophisticated weapon platforms are equipped with a powerful weapon and sensor package capable of neutralizing threats in all three dimensions – Air, Surface and Sub-surface.
( Input: Indian Defence )
( Report – Pratyusha Mukherjee )
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