Mumbai: In a significant boost to the country’s combat potential, the Indian Navy Wednesday commissioned three combatants built using mostly indigenous materials. It is the first time three warships have been commissioned together.
The Navy commissioned INS Nilgiri, INS Surat and INS Vaghsheer in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. While Nilgiri is the first of the seven stealth frigates of Project 17A, Surat is a stealth missile destroyer that is the last of its class of the four Project 15B warships, and Vaghsheer is the sixth and the last submarine built on the French Scorpene design.
The combatants have been manufactured by the Mumbai-based Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited. Speaking to reporters, the commanding officers of the three warships said that the ships were manufactured with 75 percent indigenous materials and some collaborations with global manufacturers.
Captain Nitin Kapoor, commanding officer of INS Nilgiri, said, “It is a historic event for the nation. It is a watershed moment as it is the very first time India is commissioning three warships together. This will be noticed by countries across the globe.”
Captain Sandeep Shorey, commanding officer of INS Surat, added, “Around 60 warships are being built at Indian shipyards, which shows the Navy’s emphasis on indigenisation.”
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Nilgiri’s unique stealth features
The Nilgiri is the lead ship of the Navy’s seven new stealth frigates under Project 17A. It is considered to be a major advancement over the Shivalik-class frigates and incorporates elements such as an enclosed mooring deck, a low infrared signature, a deck rail system for the safe movement of crew and material that has enabled the removal of guardrails, among others, to boost the warship’s stealth features.
Speaking to ThePrint, Kapoor said, “In other ships, you will find there are a lot of fittings on the foxle, like anchors, chain cables etc. But here it is a clean deck. Everything has shifted to one deck below, onto the mooring deck that is completely concealed. This has ensured better radar suppression of the ship, and therefore, our stealth care design.”
He further said that Nilgiri’s Infra-Red Suppression System reduces emissions from the ship’s propulsion exhaust and power generation machinery, reducing the chances of any radars detecting the ship.
The commanding officer also demonstrated how the deck rail system of the Nilgiri works. Crew and materials can be latched to the deck rails with safety harnesses for any movement on the deck.
“The Nilgiri also has a Super Rapid Gun Mount (Upgraded) system, which has been used for the very first time in the Indian Navy. The gun is capable of firing smart ammunition, which is GP-guided, it can be guided by a laser also. It has given us enhanced ranges, more lethality and more accuracy,” Kapoor said.
“There were challenges in building Nilgiri, as it involved a lot of new equipment and new technology. But we have built a ship that is fully combat ready, and this will now become a standard fit for the Navy.”
The Nilgiri has a special significance for the Indian Navy as it was the first Make in India project of the Leander-class frigates back in the 1960s.
The Indian Navy achieved the milestone of having its first indigenously built capital ship on 23 October, 1968, when the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, officially launched the erstwhile Nilgiri, applying traditional kumkum on its step. The ship was commissioned in 1972. That Nilgiri was eventually decommissioned on 31 May, 1996.
Surat, the missile destroyer
Surat is the fourth and final ship of the Project 15B ships. Project 15B is a makeover of the Project 15A Kolkata-class destroyers with significant capability enhancements.
The stealth-guided missile destroyer has a displacement of 7,400 tonnes and an overall length of 164 metres, making it one of the Indian Navy’s largest destroyers. From launch to commissioning, Surat took just 31 months, making it the indigenous warship built in the shortest time.
The predecessors of Surat in the Project 15B-class of guided missile stealth destroyers are INS Visakhapatnam, INS Mormugao and INS Imphal, commissioned in November 2021, December 2022 and December 2023, respectively.
“For this ship, you say fourth and final, I say latest and the best. The destroyer is combat ready, ready to be deployed at a minute’s notice,” Surat’s commanding officer Shorey told ThePrint.
He added that the previous ship of the class had taken 54 months from launch to commissioning.
The ship has been armed with surface-to-surface ‘BrahMos’ Supersonic cruise missiles and ‘Barak-8’ medium-range surface-to-air missiles (MRSAM) that ensure defence against all kinds of air threats.
Surat has been equipped with the indigenous 76 mm Super Rapid Gun Mount. It also has an anti-submarine weapon fit, comprising an indigenous torpedo tube launcher as well as indigenous rocket launchers. The ship also has an advanced sensor suite that can provide a continuous multi-dimensional surveillance bubble around the ship.
Surat’s commissioning crew has 30 officers and 350 sailors.
Both Nilgiri and Surat, designed by the Navy’s ‘Warship Design Bureau’, can operate a range of helicopters, such as the Chetak, ALHs (Advanced Light Helicopters), Sea King and the newly inducted MH60R, during operations throughout the day as well as at night.
Vaghsheer, the last of the Kalvari-class submarines
Vaghsheer is the sixth of the six submarines of the Kalvari-class, based on the French Scorpene design. The project involved the transfer of technology from a French collaborator, Naval Group.
The first five are the INS Kalvari, INS Khanderi, INS Karanj, INS Vela and INS Vagir.
Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited has associated with several Indian manufacturers, incorporating indigenised main batteries, intercom systems, air conditioning units and advanced communication suites.
The submarine was initially constructed in five separate sections. The welding of these five sections into one submarine—a term known as Boot Together— was completed on 18 January, 2021.
“The launch of Vaghsheer happened on 20 April, 2022. It was just a hollow cylinder then. From then, taking each step was like giving birth to a child,” said Captain Vineet Sharma, the warship’s commanding officer. “It is a conventional diesel-electric submarine. Vaghsheer is one of the stealthiest and the most advanced in the world with lean manning, capable of going into enemy territory unnoticed.”
The commissioning crew has 11 officers and 47 sailors.
The Vaghsheer is 67.5 metres in length and has a height of 12.3 metres, of which only the top half is visible above the waterline.
Like the Nilgiri, the Vaghsheer also had a namesake in the past. The erstwhile INS Vaghsheer was the third of the Vela-class submarines. That submarine was commissioned in 1974 and decommissioned in 1997.
The new Vaghsheer is much stealthier than India’s other submarines, and has a modern weapons system with advanced sonar, radar, electronic surveillance sensor and satellite communication system.
Accommodation for women officers
The Nilgiri and Surat are also India’s first warships to have separately built accommodations to support women sailors and officers. In fact, the commissioning crew of Surat has two women officers—Sergeant Lieutenant Ahalya Arvind and Lieutenant Aastha Kamboj, who is also Surat’s deputy logistics officer.
Officers said that in all the other ships, adjustments were made at a later stage to accommodate women officers and sailors, while Nilgiri and Surat have been built keeping the Navy’s women workforce in mind.
Speaking to ThePrint, Kamboj, part of Surat’s commissioning crew, said, “We have separately built accommodations that have been thought of before the design was processed, which is what makes the ship unique. Since it is the newest addition, we are accommodating 12 Agniveers and women officers, who will be serving on board. Right now, we have accommodation for six women officers.”
Sergeant Lieutenant Ahalya, a doctor on board INS Surat, added that if the Indian Navy has to be truly future-ready and at par with other countries, it has to be ready with respect to the gender aspect as well. “All the facilities onboard will make women Agniveers as well as officers who come onboard very comfortable. They will feel like they are being treated at par with their male counterparts.”
(Edited by Sanya Mathur)
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