Sudesh Dhankhar, wife of vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar, on Friday launched the Indian Navy’s latest warship ‘Mahendragiri’ at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai, officials aware of the matter said.
The warship has a length 149 metre, a width of 17.8 metre, and will have a top speed of 28 knots, the officials said.
Mahendragiri is the seventh and last stealth frigate of Project 17A – four warships are being built at Mazagon Dock and the rest at Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, under the project. The warships have a displacement of 6,670 tonne.
A warship’s launch marks a significant milestone in its construction and refers to the vessel entering the water for the first time.
Earlier, President Droupadi Murmu launched Vindhyagiri, the sixth warship of Project 17A, at GRSE on August 17.
Project 17A frigates are a follow-on to the Project 17 (Shivalik class) frigates, with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors, and platform management systems. The previous five warships under Project 17A were launched during 2019-22.
All Project 17A warships are currently in different stages of construction and are expected to be delivered to the navy from 2024-26. The latest launch comes at a time when self-reliance in defence is a top priority for the government, and when the power dynamics in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) are changing with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) making concerted efforts to increase its footprint.
{{/usCountry}}All Project 17A warships are currently in different stages of construction and are expected to be delivered to the navy from 2024-26. The latest launch comes at a time when self-reliance in defence is a top priority for the government, and when the power dynamics in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) are changing with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) making concerted efforts to increase its footprint.
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