India’s Nilgiri-class frigates are poised to soon form the bulk of surface combatant inductions with six frigates set to be commissioned over the next year.
Seven Project-17A Nilgiri-class frigates had been ordered by the Navy from Mazagon Docks Shipbuilders Limited (MDSL) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), split in a 4:3 ratio. The lead frigate Nilgiri was commissioned in January 2025. On June 22, the Indian Navy’s Eastern Naval Command (ENC) announced that INS Nilgiri arrived at Visakhapatnam on the country’s eastern coast along the Bay of Bengal. The frigate has joined the ENC and will be an integral part of the Navy’s Eastern Fleet.
The second ship Udaygiri (F35), built at MDSL, was delivered to the Indian Navy on July 1, 2025 in a record time of 37 months from the date of launching, according to an Indian MoD press release. The remaining five ships of the P17A class are at various stages of construction and would be delivered progressively by end 2026 according to the MoD.
Hindustan Times reported that all ships of the class will be inducted by August-September 2026. Udaygiri is expected to be commissioned in August 2025. Taragiri and Mahendragiri will be delivered to the navy after the completion of necessary trials in October 2025 and February 2026. The three GRSE ships: Himgiri, Dunagiri and Vindhyagiri are expected to be delivered to the navy in July-end, early 2025 and August 2026 according to the report.
This quick delivery schedule is partly due to delays faced by the project, which have been resolved satisfactorily in the lead ship thus allowing accelerated delivery of the remaining vessels. However, these will be among the last large surface combatants to be inducted for several years given the lack of orders in many of the Navy’s Next Generation (NG) projects such as NG Corvettes (NGC) and, NG Destroyers (NGD), Landing Platform Docks and a second indigenous aircraft carrier. A follow-on order for the Project 17A Nilgiri-class frigates, called Project 17B, is also expected to occur with an expected order for eight ships split between two shipyards.
P17A is a follow-on of the Shivalik class (Project 17) frigates active in service. The hull of P17A is geo-symmetrically larger by 4.54 % vis-à-vis P 17. The design and equipment are an upgrade over the three P17 Shivalik class frigates. The Nilgiri class is among the first Indian warship designs to utilize the philosophy of ‘Integrated Construction’, which involves extensive pre-outfitting at the block stages to reduce the overall build periods. The ships are configured with Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) main propulsion plants, comprising a diesel engine and LM2500 gas turbine, driving a controllable pitch propeller on each shaft. The weapon suite comprises BrahMos supersonic missile system, Medium-Range Surface to Air Missile system (MRSAM), 76 mm Gun, and a combination of 30 mm AK-630 and 12.7 mm rapid-fire close-in weapon systems. The frigate has over 75% indigenous content according to the MoD.
The Nilgiri-class frigates are likely to form the core of the Eastern Fleet’s power projection and combat capabilities, joining the Shivalik class frigates and Delhi class destroyers as the premier frontline surface combatants of ENC.
