Overview
- The sixth Project 17A Nilgiri‑class frigate, INS Mahendragiri (F38), will be formally commissioned at Visakhapatnam on July 11 after being delivered to the Navy on April 30 and declared mission‑ready by officials.
- The ship was designed by the Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai as part of a seven‑vessel Project 17A programme.
- Mahendragiri carries a modern mix of weapons and sensors reported to include BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles for long‑range strikes, Barak‑8 air‑defence missiles, electronic‑warfare systems, anti‑submarine weapons and an integrated combat management system.
- Built with more than 75% indigenous content, the frigate involved hundreds of Indian suppliers and MSMEs and is presented by officials as a boost to the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat defence‑industrial push.
- Powered by a Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion system for high speed and long endurance, Mahendragiri continues a pace of faster deliveries in Project 17A after recent commissions such as Taragiri on April 3 and Dunagiri on June 21 while one hull, Vindhyagiri, remains under construction.