100th Ship Milestone For Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau As Two Stealth Frigates Set To Join Fleet

The Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau will mark a historic milestone on 26 August, when the advanced stealth frigate INS Udaygiri, its 100th designed ship, is commissioned alongside sister vessel INS Himgiri at the Naval Dockyard in Visakhapatnam.

This will be the first time two major surface combatants from different Indian shipyards are inducted together, The New Indian Express reported.

INS Udaygiri, the second vessel of the Project 17A stealth frigates, was built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai.

INS Himgiri is the first of the class to be built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.

Both ships displace about 6,700 tonnes, slightly more than their Shivalik-class predecessors, and feature improved stealth hull designs to reduce radar cross-section.

The frigates are powered by Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion, using diesel engines and gas turbines, controlled via an Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS).

Their weapons package includes supersonic surface-to-surface missiles, medium-range surface-to-air missiles, a 76 mm gun, close-in weapon systems of 30 mm and 12.7 mm calibre, and anti-submarine warfare capabilities.

The construction involved over 200 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), generating around 4,000 direct and 10,000 indirect jobs, underscoring India’s push for self-reliance in defence manufacturing.

The commissioning caps a busy year for the Navy’s indigenous induction drive, which has already seen the addition of destroyer INS Surat, frigate INS Nilgiri, submarine INS Vaghsheer, ASW Shallow Water Craft INS Arnala, and diving support vessel INS Nistar.

Both Udaygiri and Himgiri have completed sea trials testing their hulls, machinery, and combat systems.

The ceremony in Visakhapatnam will add a new chapter to India’s naval history, celebrating indigenous design, production, and the Navy’s growing blue-water capabilities.

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