Stealth frigate Taragiri, 3rd ship of Project 17A, to be launched on September 11
Mumbai. Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) will be launching stealth guided missile frigate Taragiri, the third ship of Project 17A Nilgiri class, on September 11, marking yet another major milestone for the yard in the current financial year.
This ship has been built using integrated construction methodology which involves the construction of hull blocks at different geographical locations and integration/erection on Slipway at MDL.
The keel of Taragiri was laid on September 10, 2020 and is expected to be delivered by August 2025. The vessel will be launched with a launch weight of approximately 3,510 tonnes. The ship is designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house Bureau of Naval Design. MDL is carrying out the detailed design and construction which is overseen by the Warship Overseeing Team (Mumbai).
The 149.02 metre long and 17.8 metre wide ship is propelled by a CODOG combination of two gas turbines and two main diesel engines which are designed to achieve a speed of over 28 knots at a displacement of approximately 6,670 tonnes. The steel used in the hull construction of P17A frigates is indigenously developed DMR 249A which is a low carbon micro alloy grade steel manufactured by SAIL.
The frigate will have state-of-the-art weapons, sensors, an advanced action information system, an integrated platform management system, world class modular living spaces, sophisticated power distribution system and a host of other advanced features.
It will be fitted with a supersonic surface-to-surface missile system. The ship’s air defence capability, designed to counter the threat of enemy aircraft and anti-ship cruise missiles will revolve around the vertical launch and long range surface to air missile system. Two30 mm rapid-fire guns will provide the ship with close-in-defence capability while an SRGM Gun will enable her to provide effective naval gunfire support.
Indigenously developed triple tube light weight torpedo launchers and rocket launchers will add punch to the ship’s anti-submarine capability.
The indigenous content in P17A frigate is approx. 75 per cent, a notch above its predecessors P17 Shivalik class ships.
The ship will be integrated with a large number of indigenous equipment and machinery sourced from major industrial houses in the country as well as over 100 MSMEs. Indigenization efforts received a renewed thrust with the government’s ‘Make in India’ policy, leading to the development of ancillary industries along with generation of employment opportunities both locally as well as pan-India and thereby strengthening the economy.
“With this launch we are reiterating our firm commitment to the continued development of our indigenous warship-building capability. The fact that this ship is designed and is being constructed in India amply encapsulates our commitment to indigenization in our quest for strategic autonomy, an imperative for any national power of relevance,” the Defence Ministry said.
MDL kick-started the first quarter with the launch of two frontline warships: Udaygiri – the second stealth frigate of the Nilgiri class – and Surat, – the fourth guided missile destroyer of the Visakhapatnam class.
The shipyard had modernized its infrastructure and facility for undertaking integrated construction and has also implemented several technology components of Industry 4.0 notably, Product Data Management (PDM)/Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Virtual Reality Lab (VRL) and Augmented Reality for inspections. With these enablements, MDL presently has an aggregate capacity to simultaneously build 10 capital warships and 11 submarines.
