Indian Navy to commission indigenous stealth frigate INS Mahendragiri on July 11
Visakhapatnam, July 10 (TNT): The Indian Navy will commission INS Mahendragiri (F38), the sixth indigenous Project 17A stealth frigate, into the Eastern Fleet at Visakhapatnam on Saturday, further enhancing the country’s maritime combat capability.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will preside over the commissioning ceremony, a defence release said here on Friday.
Designed in-house by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai, INS Mahendragiri is equipped with advanced stealth features, reduced radar signature, enhanced survivability and a high degree of automation.
The Navy said the frigate, built with over 75 per cent indigenous content, reflects the success of the Centre’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative and the growing capability of India’s shipbuilding industry.
The project involved participation of a large number of Indian industries, including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
INS Mahendragiri is fitted with advanced indigenous weapons, sensors and electronic warfare systems, enabling it to undertake anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare operations.
The warship is also capable of maritime security operations, search and rescue missions, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR), and sustained deployments across the Indian Ocean Region and beyond.
Named after the Mahendragiri mountain range in the Eastern Ghats, the frigate is the first Indian Naval warship to bear the name.
The Navy said the induction of INS Mahendragiri would strengthen its operational capability and further reinforce India’s position as an emerging indigenous warship-building nation and a preferred security partner in the Indian Ocean Region and the Indo-Pacific.
The warship will operate under the motto “Mighty–Majestic–Matchless.”
TNT KM
