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India Commissions Three Naval Vessels Built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders
The Indian Navy added a stealth frigate, an anti-submarine craft and a survey ship on Sunday. All three were constructed locally with high domestic content. The move forms part of a plan to induct 19 vessels this year.
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India commissioned three domestically built naval vessels on Sunday in Kolkata, Defense News reported. The ships include the stealth guided-missile frigate Dunagiri, the anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft Agray and the survey ship Sanshodhak. Dunagiri measures 149 meters in length and displaces around 6,600 tonnes.
It carries Brahmos cruise missiles, MF star radar, Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles, supersonic surface-to-surface missiles, advanced air defense systems, a medium-range gun, close-in weapon systems and antisubmarine warfare capabilities. The vessel is the fifth stealth frigate inducted since last January, with two more scheduled in the coming months.
Agray is fitted with lightweight torpedoes, indigenous rocket launchers and shallow-water sonar systems.
Sanshodhak will conduct hydrographic surveys of coastal waters. All three ships were built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers and contain 75–80 percent domestic content, according to the Defense Ministry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at the commissioning ceremony.
“Today India no longer wants to remain a mere buyer in the defense sector,” he said. “Our military power cannot become a market for the world. ” Retired Commodore C. Uday Bhaskar noted progress alongside remaining gaps.
“India has done pretty well in terms of designing warships, but it still has a lot to do regarding the propulsion package of ships,” he said. “In the frigate Dunagiri for instance, the guns are with Italian collaboration, the engines have come from GE USA. ” India plans to add 19 vessels this year.
About 90 percent of the country’s trade by volume and vital energy imports travel by sea.
