“These ships have been designed indigenously by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design, New Delhi. The P17A frigates incorporate new design concepts for improved survivability, sea keeping, stealth and ship manoeuvrability,” Rakesh Anand, head of MDL, said at the launch ceremony.
India’s P17A frigate is a design derivative of the Shivalik class frigate with advanced “stealth” features and indigenous weapons and sensors. Four P17A frigates will be built by MDL, while construction of the three remaining ships is under the responsibility of Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE). The total deal is expected to be worth more than US$ 12 billion. Five ships are currently under production, with commissioning scheduled for 2022-2025.
With a launch weight of 2,738 t, the completed INS Nilgiri will be 149 m long, will have a beam of 17.8 m and a tonnage of 6,670 t. She will complement a crew of about 150 and be able to carry two HAL Dhruv or Sea King Mk. 42B helicopters.
The P17A frigates weapons and sensors package include Barak 8 (LR-SAM) surface-to-air missile systems, BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, one 1 × Oto Melara 127mm naval gun, Ajanta electronic warfare system, Humsa-NG sonar and the IAI EL/M-2248 MF-STAR AESA radar.
