New Delhi: Mazagon Dock Shipbuilding Ltd (MDL) delivered the fourth ship of Nilgiri-class (Project 17A) and the third one built by it, ‘Taragiri’ (Yard 12653) to the Indian Navy on November 28 at MDL, Mumbai. It marked a major milestone in achieving self-reliance in warship design and construction.
Endowed with state-of-the-art combat capabilities, indigenous advanced stealth frigate ‘Taragiri’, has been delivered to the Navy, officials said
According to Navy, this state-of-the-art frigate reflects a “quantum leap” in naval design, stealth, firepower, automation and survivability, and is a symbol of ‘aatmanirbharta’ in warship building.
Designed to address current and future challenges in the maritime domain, Project 17A frigates are versatile multi-mission platforms.
The Navy said that the potent weapon and sensors suite comprises BRAHMOS missile, MFSTAR (radar) and MRSAM (medium-range surface-to-air missile) complex, and a combination of 30 mm and 12.7 mm close-in weapon systems, along with rockets and torpedoes for anti-submarine warfare.
In the last eleven months, ‘Taragiri’ is the fourth P17A ship to be delivered to the Indian Navy.
A spokesperson of the Navy said, the experience gained from the construction of the first two P17A ships has enabled the build-period of ‘Taragiri’ to be “compressed to 81 months, in comparison to 93 months taken for the first of the class (‘Nilgiri’)”.
As per the Navy, the remaining three ships of Project 17A (one in MDL and two in GRSE — Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd) are planned to be delivered progressively by August 2026.
Erstwhile INS Taragiri, a Leander-class frigate was part of the Indian Naval fleet from May 16, 1980 to June 27, 2013 and rendered 33 years of glorious service to the nation. Taragiri’ is a reincarnation of the INS Taragiri.
P17A frigates, designed by the Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and overseen by the Warship Overseeing Team (Mumbai), reflect a “generational leap” in indigenous ship design, stealth, survivability, and combat capability, the Navy said.
Driven by the philosophy of integrated construction, the ship was built and delivered in envisaged timelines. P17A ships are fitted with an advanced weapon and sensor suite compared to the P17 (Shivalik) class.
“These ships are configured with Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion plants, comprising a diesel engine and a gas turbine that drive a Controllable Pitch Propeller (CPP) on each shaft, and state-of-the-art Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS),” it said.
Showcasing the design, ship construction and engineering prowess of the nation, delivery of ‘Taragiri’ reflects the Navy’s unrelenting focus on ‘aatmanirbharta’ in both ship design and shipbuilding.
The project with an indigenisation content of 75 percent, has involved more than 200 MSMEs and has enabled employment generation of approximately 4,000 personnel directly and more than 10,000 personnel indirectly, the Navy said.
