PM Modi commissions Satpura, Nilgiri and Vagsheer of the Indian Navy

Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned three frontline naval warships and submarines - INS Surat,INS Nilgiri and INS Vagsheer at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai, Maharashtra on 15 January 2025. 

INS Nilgiri is a stealth frigate and is the lead ship of the Indian Navy’s Project 17A, to develop stealth frigates . INS Surat is the last of the four guided missile destroyer class ships to be constructed under Project 15B and INS Vaghsheer is the the sixth and final submarine of the Kalvari class built under Project 75 of the Indian Navy.

The commissioning of these frontline warships is expected to boost the defence capabilities of the Indian Navy and strengthen India maritime security.

Boost to indigenous Defence capabilities 

• INS Surat, INS Nilgiri has been indigenously designed and constructed by the defence shipyards -Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai.
• The INS Vagsheer submarine is an Indo-French collaboration which has been constructed by MDL with technology transfer from French Naval Group.

Project 17 A of the Indian Navy 

Project 17 A of the Indian Navy is based on the earlier Project17 Shivalik-class frigates of the Indian Navy.

• The first ship of the project 17 A is called INS Nilgiri.
• A total of seven ships are to be constructed under Project 17 A. 
• Four ships are to be built by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders limited and three will be built by Garden Reach Shipbuilder and Engineers (GRSE),Kolkata.
• The length of the ship was 149 meters and breadth of 17.8 meters with a maximum speed of 28 knots.
• The Nilgiri class ships have better stealth capability and can accommodate two helicopters.
• The ship can carry eight BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, 32 MRSAM, torpedoes,  Kavach chaff launchers and a 76mm gun.
• In future it will also host indigenously developed VL-SRSAM missiles.

Project 15B 

• The Indian Navy’s Project 15 B, also called the ‘Visakhapatnam’ class destroyers was launched in 2011. 
• It is a Guided Missile Destroyer which has been designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai. 
• The first ship under Project 15 B,INS Visakhapatnam was launched in April 2015 followed by INS Mormugao, INS Imphal and INS Surat.
• The ships are 163 meters long and 17 meters wide with a maximum speed of 30 knots. The overall indigenous content of the project is around 75%.
• The ship can carry two helicopters and has modern stealth features. It can carry the indigenously developed Medium Range Surface-to-Air missile Barak Missile, Brahmos missile,Torpedo Tube Launchers,Anti-Submarine Indigenous Rocket Launchers  and Guns.

Project 75 

• Project 15 was launched in 2005 by the Ministry of Defence to build six Scorpene Class Submarines  in India under an agreement with the French Government. 
• The French defence company Naval group provided technology while it was constructed by the Mazagaon Docks.
• Six submarines have been built under the project- INS Kalvari launched in 2017 followed by INS Kalvari,INS Khanderi,INS Karanj,INS Vela, INS Vagir and INS Vagsheer.
• The 2000 tonnes INS Kalvari class submarine is a versatile ship capable of performing all types of missions like  surface vessel warfare, anti-submarine warfare, long-range strikes, special operations or intelligence gathering.

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