The Indian Navy on Saturday commissioned INS Mahendragiri, the sixth Project 17A stealth frigate, into its Eastern Fleet at a ceremony in Visakhapatnam presided over by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
What Is INS Mahendragiri?
Mahendragiri (F38) is the sixth Project 17A vessel to be inducted into the Navy, with one ship of the seven-strong Nilgiri-class programme, Vindhyagiri, still awaiting commissioning.
Designed in-house by the Indian Navy's Warship Design Bureau and built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai, the frigate carries over 75% indigenous content, the Ministry of Defence said, reflecting the government's Aatmanirbhar Bharat push in defence manufacturing.
Ahead of the ceremony, Singh had said on X that the warship was "a testament to" that vision and to the capabilities of India's domestic defence industries and MSMEs.
Naming And Legacy
Unlike most other Project 17A ships, which revived names from the earlier Nilgiri-class frigates that served the Navy between 1972 and 2013 — Nilgiri, Himgiri, Taragiri, Udaygiri and Dunagiri — Mahendragiri did not have an older namesake and was instead named after the Mahendragiri mountain range in the Eastern Ghats.
It is the first Indian naval warship to carry the name, and operates under the motto "Mighty–Majestic–Matchless."
Capabilities And Weapons Systems
The frigate is built for the full spectrum of naval warfare, with stealth features, a reduced radar signature and high automation, the ministry said. It carries an advanced suite of indigenous weapons, sensors and electronic warfare systems enabling anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine operations.
Nilgiri-class frigates are equipped with vertical-launch Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles, eight BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles capable of speeds up to Mach 3, a 127mm main gun, rapid-fire close-in weapon systems and torpedo launchers, and can also embark two medium helicopters.
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Beyond combat roles, the ship is designed for maritime security operations, search and rescue missions, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
From Launch To Commissioning
Mahendragiri was launched at Mazagon Dock in September 2023 and delivered to the Navy in April 2026, following sea trials.
Its commissioning on Saturday marks the formal completion of the Rs 50,000-crore-plus Project 17A programme, first cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security in February 2015 as a follow-on to the Shivalik-class (Project 17) frigates, with construction split between Mazagon Dock in Mumbai and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers in Kolkata.
Strategic Significance
The ministry said the induction strengthens the Navy's combat capability and reinforces India's role as a "Preferred Security Partner" in the Indian Ocean Region, supporting sustained deployments across the IOR and a stable, secure Indo-Pacific.
With six of seven Project 17A frigates now in service and Vindhyagiri still to follow, the Navy's next-generation Project 17B frigate programme is already in the pipeline as a successor class.
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