Indian Navy's latest warship Mahendragiri launched: Top points

This is the seventh warship of Project 17A. The project's frigates are a follow-on to the Project 17 (Shivalik class) frigates, with improved stealth features.

Indian Navy’s latest warship ‘Mahendragiri’ was launched by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar's wife Sudesh Dhankhar at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai on Friday, officals said. The project is the seventh warship of Project 17A.

Mahendragiri, the last Project 17A frigate of the Indian Navy. (PTI Photo)

President Droupadi Murmu launched Vindhyagiri, the sixth warship of Project 17A, at GRSE on August 17.

Project 17A frigates are a follow-on to the Project 17 (Shivalik class) frigates, with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors, and platform management systems. The previous five warships under Project 17A were launched between 2019 and 22.

Here are the top points on the warship:

1. The warship has a length 149 metre, a width of 17.8 metre, and will have a top speed of 28 knots, the officials said.
2. Mahendragiri is the last stealth frigate of Project 17A – four warships are being built at Mazagon Dock and the rest at Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, under the project.
3. All Project 17A warships are currently in different stages of construction and are expected to be delivered to the navy from 2024-26. The warships have a displacement of 6,670 tonne.
4. A warship’s launch marks a significant milestone in its construction and refers to the vessel entering the water for the first time. In a statement, the Navy said, “The newly christened Mahendragiri is a technologically advanced warship and stands as a symbol of India's determination to embrace its rich naval heritage while propelling itself towards a future of indigenous defence capabilities.”
5. This launch comes at a time when self-reliance in defence is a top priority for the government, and when the power dynamics in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) are changing with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) making concerted efforts to increase its footprint.