Navy to commission 2 warships, a submarine

It is rare for three major platforms to be commissioned on the same day.

The Indian Navy is set to commission a submarine and two warships into service in Mumbai on January 15, with the new platforms boosting its operational capabilities and combat readiness in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), a strategic maritime expanse where the challenges include China’s carefully calculated power play for influence and defending the rules-based international order, officials aware of the matter said on Tuesday.

Anti-submarine rocket launchers seen from the bridge of INS Imphal, commissioned into service in December 2023. Its sister ship Surat is among the three platforms being commissioned into the navy on January 15. (Rahul Singh/HT File)

The platforms that will enter service include Vagsheer, the sixth and final Kalvari-class submarine; Surat, a destroyer; and Nilgiri, a frigate -- all built at the Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), the officials said, asking not to be named.

It is rare for three major platforms to be commissioned on the same day.

Vagsheer has been built under a ₹23,562-crore programme called Project 75. The navy currently operates five such submarines.

These Kalvari-class (Scorpene) diesel-electric attack submarines have been constructed at MDL with technology transfer from the French firm Naval Group. The boats are capable of various missions such as anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, long-range strikes, special operations, and intelligence.

MDL delivered Surat and Nilgiri to the navy on December 20, in a big boost for self-reliance in the country’s defence manufacturing.

The warships have been designed and constructed by the navy’s Warship Design Bureau and MDL respectively. Surat, built under a ₹35,000-crore project, is the fourth and final ship under the P-15B class of guided missile stealth destroyers. The first three destroyers under the project -- Visakhapatnam, Mormugao and Imphal -- are already in service.

Surat has an indigenous content of 75%, displacement of 7,400 tonnes, length of 164 metres, breadth of 17 metres, top speed of 30 knots and a range of 4,050 nautical miles. It can carry a crew of 360.

It will be the navy’s first artificial intelligence-enabled warship, employing indigenously developed solutions that will significantly enhance its operational efficiency, the officials said.

The other warship, Nilgiri, is the first among seven P-17A frigates under construction at MDL and Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. The remaining ships are in different stages of construction at the two yards and will be delivered to the navy during the next two years, the officials said.

On Monday, the defence ministry signed two separate contracts worth ₹2,867 crore to strengthen the navy’s underwater capabilities -- for retrofitting its Kalvari-class submarines with air independent propulsion (AIP) systems to enhance their endurance, and integration of electronic heavyweight torpedoes (EHWT) to boost their firepower capabilities.

The ministry signed a ₹1,990-crore contract with MDL for the construction of AIP plug for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)-AIP system and its integration on the conventional submarines, and another contract worth ₹877 crore with the Naval Group for integration of the torpedoes to augment the firepower of the Kalvari-Class submarines.

INS Tushil, the country’s latest stealth missile frigate which was commissioned into the Indian Navy at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad, Russia on December 9, is also expected to reach the country’s western coast in mid-February, as previously reported by HT.

Tushil (or the protector shield) is an upgraded Krivak III class frigate of Project 1135.6, and six such vessels are already in service -- three Talwar class ships, built at Baltic shipyard in St Petersburg; and three follow-on Teg class ships, built at the Yantar shipyard.

Tushil has an indigenous content of around 26%, double that of the previous Teg-class frigates. This includes contributions from 33 firms including Bharat Electronics Limited, BrahMos Aerospace (an India-Russia joint venture), and Nova Integrated Systems (a fully owned subsidiary of Tata Advanced Systems Limited).

The ship is part of an over $2.5-billion deal with Russia for four more Krivak/Talwar class stealth frigates for the Indian Navy, two of which were to be constructed at the Yantar shipyard and the remaining two will be built at the Goa Shipyard Limited with technology transfer from Russia. The second Russia-made frigate, Tamal, is expected to be commissioned into the Indian Navy in mid-2025.