Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) on 11th September launched the third Stealth Frigate of Project 17A ‘”Taragiri”, a frigate when it is commissioned will among other things state-of-the-art weapons, sensors, an advanced action information system, an integrated platform management system and supersonic surface-to-surface missile system.
The keel of Taragiri was laid on September 10, 2020 and the ship is expected to be delivered by August 2025.
The 149.02 M long and 17.8 M wide ship, propelled by a CODOG combination of two Gas Turbines and 02 Main Diesel Engines, has been designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house design organization viz. Bureau of Naval Design. The MDL has undertaken the detailed design & construction of the ship which is also overseen by Warship Overseeing Team (Mumbai).
The first ship of the Project 17A, ‘Nilgiri’ was launched on September 28 2019 and it is expected for sea trials in the first half of 2024. The second ship of P17A class ‘Udaygiri’ was launched on 17 May 2022 and is expected to start sea trials during the second half of 2024. The keel of fourth and final ship has already been laid on June 28.
The total value of the Project 17A is around Rs. 25,700 Crore.
The ship 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,” the statement said.