Just after commissioning the first indigenously built Aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, India officially launched the fifth Nilgiri class stealth frigate INS Taragiri on Sunday, Sept. 11.
INS Taragiri is the fifth in its class, but the third stealth frigate under the Indian Navy’s Project 17A launched at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) yard. The design and development of the warship are undertaken by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design and MDL in collaboration with various private industries.
INS Taragiri is considered a milestone in the government’s push for Aatmanirbhar Bharat. According to the details shared by MDL, 75 percent of the components in Taragiri are indigenous, marking an increase from its predecessor P-17 Shivalik ships. Indigenous components have risen with each naval vessel’s construction.
The ship is being integrated with a huge number of indigenous equipment and machinery supplied from major industrial and engineering firms in the country as well as over 100 MSMEs. Indigenization efforts received a revamped boost with the ‘Make in India’ policy,” under a central government initiative.
INS Taragiri incorporates state-of-the-art technologies and a cutting-edge weapon system, designed in line with semi-stealth abilities. The ship is fitted with a naval variant of BrahMos supersonic surface-to-surface missile system which will make it a lethal platform against enemy warships. The Barak-8 vertical launch and long-range surface-to-air missile system mounted on the vessel will counter the threat of incoming enemy aircraft and anti-ship cruise missiles.
Taragiri has been designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house Bureau of Naval Design. Weighing 3,510 tonnes of dead weight, the warship spans 149m in length and 18m in width.
According to the information available by the manufacturer, Taragiri is propelled by a combination of two gas turbines and two diesel engines. It can achieve a maximum speed of 28 knots at a displacement of 6670 tonnes. It is one of the largest frigates built by any South Asian country.
Other than MDL, India’s second shipyard Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) is involved in Project 17A. The shipyard has already launched two vessels in the class named Himgiri and Dunagiri. Both shipyards will jointly roll out a total of seven vessels in class — four from MDL and three from GRSE.
With multiple active aircraft carriers, the Indian Navy is focused on bringing more warships into service to create a carrier battle fleet centered around aircraft carriers like INS Vikrant and INS Vikramaditya.
