MDL delivers stealth frigate INS Nilgiri, warship INS Surat to Indian Navy

The Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) on Friday delivered the first stealth frigate of Project 17A class and the fourth stealth destroyer of Project 15B Class to the Indian Navy.

As per an official statement, the stealth frigate will be named INS Nilgiri, and the missile destroyer will be called INS Surat after commissioning.

The warships will now undergo sea trials.

The Navy's Warship Design Bureau designed the warships, built by the MDL and overseen by the Warship Overseeing Team, Mumbai.

The MDL said Nilgiri, the first of class (FoC) ship of Project 17A, features cutting-edge advanced technology and is comparable to the finest ships of similar class anywhere in the world.

Nilgiri incorporates design concepts for improved survivability, seakeeping, stealth and ship manoeuvrability. The ship has state-of-the-art stealth features, achieved through the shaping of the hull and radar transparent deck fittings, which make ships difficult to detect.

The warship is packed with an array of state-of-the-art weapons and sensors and has an all-round capability against enemy submarines, surface warships, anti-ship missiles, and fighter aircraft, the defence PSU said.

It is mounted with guns for close-in defence capability and effective naval gunfire. Nilgiri is enabled to operate independently without supporting vessels and to function as the flagship of the Naval task force.

As per the statement, Surat is the fourth ship of Project 15B and is a potent platform capable of undertaking a variety of tasks and missions, spanning the full spectrum of maritime warfare.

It is armed with supersonic surface-to-surface Brahmos missiles and 'Barak-8 medium-range surface-to-air missiles. The destroyer is fitted with indigenously developed anti-submarine weapons and sensors, prominently the hull-mounted Sonar Humsa NG, heavy-weight torpedo tube launchers and ASW rocket launchers.

Significantly more versatile than the previous classes of destroyer and frigates in the Naval inventory, Surat's all-round capability against enemy submarines, surface warships, anti-ship missiles and fighter aircraft will enable it to operate independently without supporting vessels and also to function as the flagship of a Naval task force.

"Surat has been delivered to the Indian Navy ahead of the contractual time as the most combat-worthy platform to date. This reaffirms MDL's commitment towards continuous improvement and exceeding global benchmark," the MDL said.

The indigenous content in P15B class destroyers is 72 per cent, which is a notch above their predecessors, P15A (59 per cent) and P15 (42 per cent) class destroyers.