INS Mahendragiri set to be commissioned at Visakhapatnam’s Eastern Naval Command
INS Mahendragiri, the seventh and final ship of the Project 17A (Nilgiri-class) stealth guided-missile frigate programme, was commissioned into the Indian Navy at the Eastern Naval Command, Visakhapatnam.
The commissioning ceremony was presided over by the Union Defence Minister.
The ship was built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai, and designed in-house by the Indian Navy's Warship Design Bureau (WDB).
With this commissioning, all seven Project 17A frigates — built jointly by MDL (four ships) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Kolkata (three ships) — have now entered service, completing the class.
The frigate is expected to be based with the Eastern Fleet, strengthening surveillance and combat capability in the Bay of Bengal and the wider Indo-Pacific.
Project 17A (Nilgiri-class) Stealth Frigates
Project 17A is a follow-on, improved-stealth successor to the Shivalik-class (Project 17) frigates, designed by the Indian Navy's own Warship Design Bureau. The class incorporates a reduced radar cross-section (RCS) through an angular hull form and integrated masts, reduced infrared signature, and greater indigenous weapon/sensor integration than its predecessor class, reflecting the progressive indigenisation of Indian warship design since Project 16A/17.
Key Details
- Seven ships in the class, named after Indian mountain ranges: Nilgiri, Udaygiri, Taragiri, Mahendragiri (built by MDL); Himgiri, Dunagiri, Vindhyagiri (built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Kolkata).
- Displacement approximately 6,670 tonnes; length about 149 m; beam about 17.8 m — larger than the preceding Shivalik-class.
- Propulsion: Combined Diesel and Gas (CODAG) — two LM2500 gas turbines and two diesel engines, giving a top speed of about 28 knots and range of roughly 5,500 nautical miles.
- Lead ship INS Nilgiri was commissioned on 15 January 2025; Mahendragiri is the last of the class to join service, completing the programme sanctioned in 2015.
The commissioning of Mahendragiri marks the operational completion of the entire Project 17A programme, a flagship case study in indigenous warship design and construction under the "Make in India" and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives in defence manufacturing.
Indigenisation in Defence Shipbuilding (Atmanirbhar Bharat)
Atmanirbhar Bharat in defence refers to the policy push — including indigenisation lists under the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020, positive indigenisation lists issued by the Department of Defence Production, and support for MSMEs — to reduce import dependence in weapons platforms. Naval shipbuilding is frequently cited as the most indigenised segment of India's defence production, with warships now designed domestically and built using a large base of Indian public and private sub-vendors.
Key Details
- INS Mahendragiri has been reported with indigenous content exceeding 75% by cost, sourced from Indian public sector units, private shipyards, and MSMEs.
- The Navy has stated that of about 41 ships and submarines currently on order, the vast majority are being built in Indian shipyards, a marked shift from the import-heavy fleet composition of earlier decades.
- Key indigenous systems on Project 17A ships include hull-mounted sonar (HUMSA-NG) and combat management systems developed by Indian defence PSUs such as Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
The Defence Ministry's framing of the commissioning explicitly invokes Atmanirbhar Bharat, making the ship's indigenous-content figure and the "Make in India" defence narrative a likely testable data point.
Weapons, Sensors, and Naval Combat Roles
Project 17A frigates are multi-role platforms designed for anti-air, anti-surface, anti-submarine warfare, and secondary roles such as maritime security, power projection, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR). Their weapon fit reflects standard contemporary frigate armament layered around vertical-launch missile systems and layered air-defence.
Key Details
- Primary strike weapon: BrahMos supersonic anti-ship/land-attack cruise missile (a joint India-Russia venture, in vertical-launch cells).
- Air defence: Barak-8 (Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile), a joint India-Israel development, in a vertical-launch module.
- Sensors: MF-STAR (Multi-Function Surveillance, Track and guidance Radar), an AESA radar; HUMSA-NG hull-mounted sonar for anti-submarine warfare.
- Secondary armament: 76 mm main gun, AK-630 Close-In Weapon System (CIWS), and triple-tube torpedo launchers; the class also embarks anti-submarine helicopters.
The Navy's official description of Mahendragiri as "combat-ready" for anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine operations draws directly on this standard multi-mission frigate weapons fit, a recurring prelims topic on naval platforms and their missile systems.
- INS Mahendragiri (pennant number F38) is the seventh and last ship of Project 17A (Nilgiri-class), commissioned at Visakhapatnam under the Eastern Naval Command.
- Named after the Mahendragiri hill range in the Eastern Ghats (Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border area).
- Built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai; designed by the Indian Navy's Warship Design Bureau.
- Displacement: approximately 6,670 tonnes; top speed: about 28 knots; indigenous content: reported above 75%.
- Armament includes BrahMos cruise missiles, Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles, a 76 mm gun, AK-630 CIWS, and torpedo launchers, supported by MF-STAR radar and HUMSA-NG sonar.
- Lead ship of the class, INS Nilgiri, was commissioned on 15 January 2025; the class comprises four MDL-built ships and three built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Kolkata.