Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launches Project 17A stealth frigate 'Dunagiri'- All you need to know about the warship

Source : Times Now

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during the launching ceremony of Project-17A stealth frigate INS Dunagiri at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) today

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday launched the second Project 17A stealth frigate 'Dunagiri' into the Hooghly river in Kolkata. This ship will prove to be a very big asset to the country, he said after launching the frigate. "Lord Hanuman brought the whole Dronagiri mountain to bring the 'sanjeevani booti' for Lord Laxman. Dronagiri or Dunagiri is also capable of giving a conclusion to its work in any situation," he said.

Kolkata, West Bengal | Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, accompanied by Kala Hari Kumar, President of Navy Wives Welfare Association (NWWA), launched ‘Dunagiri’, the second P17A stealth frigate built by warship maker Garden Reach Shipbuilders And Engineers Ltd. (GRSE) pic.twitter.com/GyGvGSlWqY

— ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2022

Christened after a mountain range in Uttarakhand, 'Dunagiri' is the fourth ship of P17A Frigates. These are follow-on of the P17 Frigates (Shivalik Class) with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors, and platform management systems.

'Dunagiri is the reincarnation of the erstwhile 'Dunagiri, the Leander class ASW frigate, which in her 33 years of service from May 1977 to October 2010, had witnessed various challenging operations and multinational exercises, the statement said. Related News

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The first two ships of the P17A Project were launched in 2019 and 2020 at MDL (Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited) and GRSE (Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited) respectively.

The third ship (Udaygiri) was launched at MDL on 17 May 22 earlier this year. "The launch of the fourth ship within such a short span is a testimony to the impetus provided towards self-reliant shipbuilding with a focused approach," the ministry said.

P17A ships have been designed in-house by the Indian Navy's Directorate of Naval Design (DND), which the statement added has the successfully spear-headed design of numerous classes of indigenous warships in the past. "This is a testimony of the nation’s unwavering efforts towards ‘AatmaNirbharata’ as 75% of the orders for equipment & system are also being placed on indigenous firms including MSMEs," the ministry said.

Earlier this week, the defence minister launched 75 newly-developed Artificial Intelligence (AI) products during the first-ever 'AI in Defence' symposium and exhibition in New Delhi. The products, launched as part of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations, fall under various domains such as AI platform automation; autonomous/unmanned/robotics systems; block chain-based automation; computer and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; cyber security; lethal autonomous weapon systems, and others.

Rajnath Singh pointed out that AI has built inroads in almost every sector, including defence, health, agriculture, trade and transport. He called upon all the defence stakeholders to enhance the jointness of human consciousness and the ability of AI to bring a radical change in the sector.