In a historic milestone for the country’s Atmanirbharta, journey, two warships, a destroyer (Surat) and a frigate (Nilgiri) were delivered to the Indian Navy on December 20, 2024. The ships have been designed and constructed indigenously by the Warship Design Bureau of Indian Navy and MDL, respectively. This is in keeping with the thrust, given by Government of India and the Indian Navy, on nation building through self-reliance. Simultaneous induction of two state-of-the-art men of war will significantly enhance the operational capabilities and combat readiness of the Indian Navy.

The delivery of Yard 12707 (Surat), the fourth and final Project 15B stealth guided missile destroyer, culminates the iconic indigenous destroyer building project of the Indian Navy, which began with the Project 15 (three Delhi class, 1997-2001), followed by Project 15A (three Kolkata class, 2014-2016) and Project 15B (four Visakhapatnam class, 2021-2024).

Yard 12651 (Nilgiri), the first Project 17A stealth frigate is a follow-on of the Shivalik class (Project 17) frigates active in service. Nilgiri is first among the seven P17A frigates under construction and MDL, Mumbai and GRSE, Kolkata. These multi-mission frigates are capable of operating in a ‘blue water’ environment dealing with both conventional and non-conventional threats in the area of India’s Maritime Interests.