INS Vindhyagiri

Why in news?

• The President has launched the sixth vessel of the Project 17 Alpha Frigates, ‘Vindhyagiri’, a stealth ship of the Indian Navy.

About INS Vindhyagiri:

• INS Vindhyagiri is the sixth stealth frigate constructed under Project-17 Alpha.
• It is built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) facility at Kolkata and named after the Vindhyagiri hills in Karnataka.

Significance: 

• Vindhyagiri pays a befitting tribute to the distinguished service of its predecessor, the erstwhile INS Vindhyagiri, the Leander Class ASW Frigate.
• The old Vindhyagiri in its nearly 31 years of service from 1981 to 2012 had witnessed various challenging operations.

About Project-17 Alpha:

• Project-17 Alpha is also known as the Nilgiri class frigate project. The project was launched by the Indian Navy in 2019.
• It involves the construction of seven new-generation stealth frigates for the Indian Navy using advanced technologies.
• These frigates are being built by two state-run shipyards: 
  • Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) is responsible for manufacturing four frigates — INS Nilgiri, Udaygiri, Taragiri and Mahendragiri.
  • Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) will manufacture the remaining three frigates, INS Himgiri, Dunagiri and Vindhyagiri.
• These ships are follow-on versions of the three Project-17 vessels, also known as the Shivalik class frigates in the Indian Navy.

Features: 

• The P17A ships are advanced missile frigates measuring 149 meters in length, weighing about 6,670 tonnes, and can travel at a speed of 28 knots.
• These are capable of neutralizing threats in all three dimensions of air, surface and subsurface.
• They are being built using a special stealth design that has radar-absorbent coatings and is low-observable, making it possible for them to approach without being seen by adversaries. 
• Around 75% of the equipment and systems for these ships are sourced from local companies, including small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Project 17-Alpha, sometimes discussed in news, is associated with:

(a) Defence manufacturing

(b) Telecom connectivity

(c) Genome sequencing

(d) Space exploration

Answer