Indian Navy floats out new Project 17A frigate

Taragiri, a Project 17A Frigate was launched at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in Mumbai on 11 September.

Taragiri, named after a hill range in Himalayas located at Garhwal, is the fifth ship of Project 17A frigates. These ships are an advanced version of the P17 frigates (Shivalik-class) with improved stealth features, weapons and sensors and platform management systems.

The first Taragiri was a Leander-class ASW frigate, which saw numerous challenging operations in service to the nation spanning over three decades from 16 May 1980 to 27 June 2013.

Under the P17A program, a total of seven ships, with four at MDL and three at GRSE are under construction.

Four P17A Project ships (two each at MDL and GRSE) were launched between 2019 and 2022. 

P17A ships have been designed in-house by Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau. 75% of the orders for equipment & system of Project 17A ships are being placed on indigenous firms including MSMEs.

The third ship of the class, Udaygiri, was launched in May this year, together with Surat, a Project 15B destroyer (Visakhapatnam-class).