Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the Mazagon Docks Limited for continued production of ships despite Covid and said ‘Surat’ and ‘Udaygiri’ will add to India’s Naval might.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday launched two frontline warships of the Indian Navy – ‘Surat’ and ‘Udaygiri’ — at Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) in Mumbai. ‘Surat’ is the fourth Guided Missile Destroyer of P15B class while ‘Udaygiri’ is the second Stealth Frigate of P17A class.
Both the warships — ‘Surat’ and ‘Udaygiri’ — have been designed in-house by the Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and built at MDL, Mumbai. In keeping with the Naval traditions, President NWWA (Western Region) Charu Singh and spouse of CMD, MDL Jaishree Prasad blessed and named the ships ‘Surat’ and ‘Udaygiri’, respectively.
The minister, in his address, described the warships as an embodiment of the government’s unwavering commitment to enhance the country’s maritime capability, with focus on achieving ‘Aatmanirbharta’, at a time when the world is witnessing disruption in global supply chain due to Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Rajnath Singh also congratulated the MDL for continued ship production activities despite the pandemic and meeting the strategic requirements of the Indian Navy in the current geo-political scenario.
The launch of ‘Surat’ and ‘Udaygiri’ also marks the commencement of the next phase involving extensive outfitting activities by the shipyards readying these ships for delivery.
The Project 15B class of ships are the next-generation stealth guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy, being built at the Mazagon Docks Limited, which are follow-on class of the weapon intensive P15A (Kolkata Class) Destroyers. P17A Frigates are warships that are follow-on class of the P17 (Shivalik Class) Frigates with improved stealth features, advanced weapons & sensors and platform management systems.
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