Kolkata: Strengthening the maritime capabilities of the Indian Navy, the second P17A stealth frigate built by warship maker Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) will be launched by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on July 15, a senior official said here on Saturday. The state-of-the-art ship will be fitted with the latest gadgets and undergo extensive trials by GRSE, which was contracted to build three stealth frigates under Project 17A, before being handed over to the Indian Navy for commissioning into service.
"Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will launch the ship on July 15 at the GRSE Main Complex here on the bank of Hooghly river," the GRSE official told journalists. The warship is in the final stages of construction and is undergoing paint shop work. The first P17A frigate built by GRSE was launched in December 2020 by Madhulika Rawat, the wife of then Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat.
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P17A ships are guided-missile frigates, each of which is 149 metres long with a displacement of approximately 6,670 tonnes and a speed of 28 knots, the official said. The Navy had placed orders for seven stealth frigates, four of which went to Mazagon Dock Ltd (MDL) and three to GRSE. The Rs 19,294-crore contract for construction of the three stealth frigates under Project 17A is the largest-ever order for GRSE, the official said. The Kolkata-based defence PSU has an order book of around Rs 24,000 crore at present, he said.
Though GRSE has other production activities like a diesel engine plant in Ranchi and bailey bridge construction, nearly 95 per cent of its revenues are generated from shipbuilding, the official said. The company at present is working on six projects, comprising the construction of 23 ships that include one passenger ship for Guyana and six patrol vessels for Bangladesh, he said. (PTI)
