Keel of the third ship (Yard- 12653) of the Indian Navy P17A class stealth frigates was laid on 10 Sep 2020.
The keel laying ceremony was conducted through an e-platform in the presence of Vice Admiral R B Pandit, Chief of Staff, HQWNC and Vice Admiral Narayan Prasad CMD of MDL Shipyard, an Indian MoD release said.
Seven frigates under P17A series will be constructed of which four are being constructed in MDL and three in GRSE Shipyard with MDL as the lead yard. The P17A class frigates are being built using indigenously developed steel and fitted with weapons and sensors along with Integrated Platform Management System. These ships are having stealth features.
Construction of P17A ships differ in the very concept of warship building by way of adoption of the modern technology ‘Integrated Construction (IC)’ where the blocks are pre-outfitted before joining to reduce the build period of warships. When commissioned, the platforms will enhance the combat capability of the Indian Naval fleet.
The INS Nilgiri Shivalik-class frigate is build based on a stealth design with a covered mooring deck and the number of antennae on the ship will be reduced by using EL/M-2248 MF-STAR AESA radar. The P17A will also feature better roll stabilization and a discreet visual profile. The weapon platform in the P17A ships is compact and armed with 32 Barak 8 and 8 BrahMos missiles.
The Barak-8 missile is fired from a vertical launch system, which consists of multiple individual missiles in separate container-launcher silos installed in the hull of the ship. A vertical launch system enables multiple missiles to be fired simultaneously.
The Project 17A frigate is also armed with one Oto Melara 127 mm main gun, unlike the Indian Navy existing fleet of ships that use 76 mm and 100 mm guns.
The Nilgiri-class frigate powered by two General Electric LM2500 gas turbines and two MAN manufactured diesel engines. This will help the frigate achieve a top speed of 28 knots and a range of 5,500 nautical miles at a speed of 10-15 knots.
The INS Nilgiri frigate has a crew of 150 sailors including 35 officers.
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