Project 17A
Nilgiri-Class Stealth Frigates
Project 17A is the Indian Navy's follow-on programme to Project 17 (Shivalik class), producing seven stealth guided-missile frigates with reduced radar, thermal and acoustic signatures. The class is being built jointly by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, split four ships to MDL and three to GRSE.
- Displacement approximately 6,670 tonnes; length about 149 metres; CODAG (Combined Diesel and Gas) propulsion giving a top speed of around 28 knots.
- Armament includes 8 BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, 32 Barak-8/MRSAM surface-to-air missiles, a 76 mm main gun, AK-630 close-in weapon system, torpedoes, and indigenous anti-submarine rocket launchers.
- Over 75% indigenous content, involving more than 200 MSMEs, built using Integrated Modular Construction — cited as a flagship example of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliance) push in defence production.
- Lead ship INS Nilgiri; the class name follows the Navy's tradition of naming frigates after mountain ranges (as with the earlier Nilgiri and Shivalik classes).
● Tracked since March 30, 2026 · last seen July 13, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes
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