Two warships to be launched in Mumbai next week

New Delhi, May 13 (PTI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will launch two frontline warships of the Indian Navy in Mumbai on May 17 which will mark a significant milestone in their construction, officials said on Friday.

The ship ‘Surat’ is the fourth and last of the stealth destroyers under the ‘Project 15B’ programme.

The second ship, ‘Udaygiri’ is part of the ‘Project 17A’ frigate programme.

The launch refers to a ship entering water for the first time.

“The nation will witness a landmark event in the history of indigenous warship building when two frontline warships of Indian Navy will be launched concurrently at Mazgaon Docks Limited in Mumbai on May 17,” said an Indian Navy official.

The Project 15B class of ships are the next generation stealth guided missile destroyers of the Indian Navy being built at the Mazgaon Docks Ltd in Mumbai.  ‘Surat’ is the fourth ship of Project 15B destroyers which heralds a significant makeover of the P15A (Kolkata Class) destroyers, the official said.

The ship Surat has been built using the block construction methodology which involved hull construction at two different geographical locations and has been joined together at MDL, the official said.

The first ship of this class was commissioned in 2021. The second and third ships have been launched and are at different stages of trials.  The ship ‘Udaygiri’ is named after a mountain range in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

It is the third ship of Project 17A frigates.  These are follow on of the P17 Frigates (Shivalik Class) with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems.

Both 15B and P17A ships have been designed in-house by the Directorate of Naval Design.