• Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd successfully completed the Contractor Sea Trials (CSTs) of Himgiri, an advanced frigate, and Androth, an Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft.

• Himgiri is first in a series of three such platforms being built by GRSE under the Navy’s Project 17A

• Androth is second in a series of eight ASW SWCs under construction at the shipyard.

• A CST is considered the final stage of construction, when a vessel’s seaworthiness is tested. 

• Several factors, such as speed, manoeuvrability, and the performance of on-board equipment are checked. 

Project 17A frigates

• Project 17A frigates are a follow-on class of the P17 (Shivalik Class) frigates with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems.

• The Navy had placed orders for seven stealth frigates, four of which are being developed by Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL) and three by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE).

• P17A ships have been designed in-house by Navy’s Warship Design Bureau. Around 75 per cent of the orders for equipment and system of P17A ships are being placed on indigenous firms.

• The first ship of Project 17A, ‘Nilgiri’ built by MDL, was launched on September 28, 2019. 

• ‘Himgiri’, the first of the three Project 17A ships being built at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata was on December 14, 2020.

• The third ship ‘Udaygiri’ under the project was launched on May 17 this year. It is expected to start sea trials during the second half of 2024. 

• ‘Dunagiri’, the fourth ship of P17A frigates, was launched in July this year. It was named after a mountain range in Uttarakhand.

• Taragiri, named after a hill range in the Himalayas located at Garhwal, was the fifth ship of Project 17A frigates. It was launched in September 2022.

• Vindhyagiri, named after the mountain range in Karnataka, was the sixth ship of Project 17A frigates. It was launched in August.

• Mahendragiri is the last of the seven warships under Project 17A.

• The state-of-the-art ship will be fitted with the latest gadgets and undergo extensive trials before being handed over to the Indian Navy for commissioning into service.

• P17A ships are guided missile frigates, each of which is 149 metres long, with the displacement of approximately 6,670 tonnes and a speed of 28 knots. 

• These are capable of neutralising threats in all three dimensions of air, surface and sub-surface.

ASW Shallow Water Craft (SWC) Project

• Contract for building eight ASW SWC ships was signed between the  Defence Ministry and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata on April 29, 2019.

• ‘Arnala’, the first of the project was launched on December 20, 2022.

• Arnala class of ships will replace the in-service Abhay class ASW Corvettes of the Indian Navy and are designed to undertake anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, Low Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO) and Mine Laying operations including subsurface surveillance in littoral waters.

• The ASW SWC ships are 77.6 m long, have a displacement of 900 tonnes with a maximum speed of 25 knots.

• The ASW SWC ships will have over 80 per cent indigenous content, thereby ensuring that large scale defence production is executed by Indian manufacturing units, generating employment and capability enhancement within the country.

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