Big boost for maritime strength: Navy gets delivery of 2 warships, 1 survey vessel in one day

NEW DELHI: In a big boost to India's maritime strength amid the increasing presence of China in the Indian Ocean Region, the Indian Navy on Monday received deliveries of two warships, including a stealth frigate, and one large survey ship from Garden Reach Shipbuilding and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) in Kolkata in just one day.

While Dunagiri is the fifth warship of Nilgiri class made under the Project 17A and delivered to the Navy in the last 16 months, Agray is the fourth of eight Arnala class anti-submarine warfare shallow water warships that will augment the Navy’s anti-submarine and mine-warfare and coastal surveillance capabilities (ASW-SWCs). Sanshodhak, on the other hand, is a large survey vessel that is capable of full-scale coastal and deep-water hydrographic survey of port and harbour approaches and determination of navigational channels and routes.




Defence minister Rajnath Singh had launched the Dunagiri project at GRSE in Kolkata on July 15, 2022. It is a 149-metre-long, 6,670-tonne guided-missile frigate that is equipped with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors, enabling multi-dimensional operations across air, surface and sub-surface domains, an official said. “Equipped with BrahMos anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles, along with advanced defence systems, Dunagiri represents a significant leap in naval strike and defensive capabilities,” an official said.

Designed by Warship Design Bureau and overseen by the warship overseeing team (Kolkata), P17A frigates reflect a generational leap in indigenous ship design, stealth, survivability, and combat capability. The experiences gained from the construction of the first four P17A ships have enabled compressing the build period of Dunagiri to 80 months, in comparison to 93 months taken for the first of class (Nilgiri). With an indigenisation content of 75%, the project has involved over 200 MSMEs.

Agray is one of the largest naval warships (77 m in length) propelled by waterjets and is equipped with state-of-the-art lightweight torpedoes, indigenous rocket launchers and shallow water SONAR, enabling effective detection and engagement of underwater threats. Agray, built in line with the govt’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, has over 80% indigenous content.

With a displacement of about 3400 tonnes and overall length 110 m, Sanshodhak is fitted with state-of-the-art hydrographic equipment such as data acquisition and processing system, autonomous underwater vehicle, remotely operated vehicle, differential GPS long-range positioning systems and digital side scan sonar.

Sanshodhak is part of a contract for four survey vessel (large) that was signed on Oct 30, 2018. The previous ships of the same class, INS Sandhayak, INS Nirdeshak and INS Ikshak were commissioned in Feb 2024, Dec 2024 and Nov 2025, respectively. Besides coastal and deep-water hydrographic survey, the ship's role also includes collecting oceanographic and geophysical data for defence and civil applications. Sanshodhak has an indigenous content in excess of 80% by cost.

GRSE is currently constructing multiple warships, including one project 17A advanced stealth frigate, four ASW-SWCs, and four next-generation offshore patrol vessels. In addition, the shipyard is building 30 other vessels, of which 13 are export platforms. GRSE is also in the advanced stages of concluding a prestigious contract for the construction of five next-generation corvettes.
Check Rajasthan Board 12th Science Result 2026 Here - RBSE 12th Result Live Updates