Rajnath Singh launches 2 indigenously built warships in Mumbai

Mumbai/New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday launched two indigenously built warships 'Surat' and 'Udaygiri' at the Mazagon Docks in Mumbai. This is the first time the two indigenously built warships have been launched concurrently, the Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL) said.

The MDL is a premiership and submarine building defence public sector undertaking.

'Surat' is the fourth ship of Project 15B Destroyers, which heralds a significant makeover of the P15A (Kolkata Class) destroyers, and is named after the commercial capital of Gujarat and also the second-largest commercial hub of western India after Mumbai, the Navy said.

The Project 15B class of ships is the Navy's next-generation stealth guided-missile destroyers built at the MDL.

'Udaygiri', named after a mountain range in Andhra Pradesh, is the third ship of Project 17A Frigates. It is a follow on of the P17 Frigates (Shivalik Class) with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems, the Navy said.

"The launch of naval warships is a major initiative accomplished to make India self-reliant in the field of Defence Manufacturing, as we celebrate #AmritMahotsav", said Neeru Singh Gyani, MDL's independent director, while speaking to Defence Watch.

The new warship is the reincarnation of the erstwhile 'Udaygiri', the Leander Class ASW Frigate, which saw numerous challenging operations in its outstanding service to the country, spanning over three decades from February 1976 to August 2007, IN statement added.

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