Syllabus:
GS3: Achievements of Indians in Science & Technology; Indigenization of Technology and Developing New Technology.
Context:
Recently, INS Udaygiri, the second ship of Project 17A’s stealth frigates, was delivered to the Indian Navy.
More on the News
- Udaygiri has been delivered to the Indian Navy in a record time of 37 months from the date of launching.
- It is a modern avatar of its predecessor, the erstwhile INS Udaygiri, which was a steam ship, decommissioned on August 24, 2007, after rendering 31 years of service to the nation.
- The remaining five ships of the P 17A Class are at various stages of construction at MDL, Mumbai, and GRSE, Kolkata, and would be delivered progressively by the end of 2026.
- Udaygiri’s delivery highlights India’s shipbuilding and engineering strength, backed by a robust industrial ecosystem of over 200 MSMEs.
- The newly designed ships are also being built employing the philosophy of ‘Integrated Construction’, which involves extensive pre-outfitting at the Block stages to reduce the overall build periods.
- The indigenous ship construction has the Plough Back effect as it leads to direct employment generation for about 4,000 personnel and more than 10,000 personnel through indirect/ ancillary sources.
- The positive spin-offs of the shipbuilding project include self-reliance, economic development, employment generation, growth of MSMEs and ancillary ecosystem in the country.
INS Udaygiri
- It became the 100th ship to be designed and delivered by the Indian Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau.
- It was built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDSL) in Mumbai.
- The warship is fitted with major weapons and sensors sourced from indigenous OEMs.
Project 17-A
- A fleet of seven indigenous stealth frigates built as the successor to the Shivalik-class under Project 17.
- It is initiated in 2015 and is being constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai, and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.
- The hull of P17A ships is geo-symmetrically larger by 4.54 % vis-à-vis P 17. These ships are fitted with an advanced weapon and sensor suite with enhanced ‘sleek and stealthy’ features compared to the P17 class.
- The ships are configured with Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) main propulsion plants, comprising a Diesel Engine and Gas turbine, driving a Controllable Pitch Propeller (CPP) on each shaft and a state-of-the-art Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS).
- The weapon suite comprises supersonic Surface-to-Surface missile system, Medium-Range Surface to Air Missile system, 76 mm Gun, and a combination of 30 mm and 12.7 mm rapid-fire close-in Weapon Systems.
- These multi-mission frigates are capable of operating in a ‘Blue Water’ environment, dealing with both conventional and non-conventional threats in the area of India’s Maritime Interests.