India’s navy gets a double dose of stealth with twin warship launch

The grey hulls of two new Indian stealth frigates are set to slide into service side by side this month, in a rare twin commissioning that analysts say embodies India’s maritime ambitions and sends a clear message to its rivals.

The INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri are set to formally join the fleet on August 26 in a ceremony at Visakhapatnam on India’s east coast. Both vessels, which were built in separate shipyards, are part of Project 17A – India’s most advanced stealth frigate programme – and represent a leap forward in indigenous shipbuilding.

The Udaygiri, the second of four Project 17A frigates being built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai, is joined by the Himgiri, the first of three sister ships constructed by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers in Kolkata.

Together, New Delhi hopes the ships will form a potent new force in Indian maritime power projection.

Analysts say the simultaneous commissioning is more than a ceremonial flourish. It also marks a rapid expansion of India’s surface combatant fleet at a time of intensifying competition with China, whose navy is expanding its reach far beyond its own territorial waters.

The frigates will serve as important assets for the Indian Navy in countering China’s influence in the Indian Ocean, according to Dongkeun Lee, a policy fellow at the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network, who identified two primary roles for the ships.