President Droupadi Murmu launched ‘Vindhyagiri’ in arrived in Kolkata at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) facility on the banks of the Hooghly River. Vindhyagiri is named after the Karnataka mountain range.
The launch event was attended by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Governor SCV Ananda Bose, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar, and other top officials.
The INS ‘Vindhyagiri’ is the advanced and the latest stealth frigate or warship. This is the sixth of seven ships built for the Navy as part of “Project 17 Alpha.” The project’s first five ships were launched between 2019 and 2022. This is the third and last stealth frigate built for the Navy by the Kolkata-based warship manufacturer under the program.
According to the official, indigenous businesses, including micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), account for 75% of orders for P17A ship equipment and systems.
This newly advanced ship will be outfitted with the newest technology and put through intensive testing before being turned over to the Indian Navy for commissioning.
These warships are the Project 17 Class Frigates (Shivalik Class) with better stealth, upgraded armament and sensors, and platform management systems. According to a GRSE spokesman, the P17A ships are guided missile frigates that are 149 meters long, have a displacement of around 6,670 tonnes, and travel at a speed of 28 knots. These are capable of any kind of threat in all three dimensions: air, surface, and subsurface.
Earlier in the day, the president inaugurated the ‘My Bengal, Addiction Free Bengal’ campaign at the Raj Bhavan as part of the ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyan’ organized by the Brahma Kumaris.
