INS Taragiri commissioned: Project 17A stealth frigate features
Why in the news
The Navy formally inducted INS Taragiri in a ceremony at Visakhapatnam. The ship is one of the advanced stealth frigates being built under Project 17A.
Key facts
- Builder: Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), Mumbai.
- Class: Project 17A (Nilgiri-class), seven ships in all, four by MDL and three by GRSE.
- Role: multi-dimensional warfare against air, surface and underwater threats.
- Propulsion: CODOG (Combined Diesel or Gas), good for economical patrols and fast sprints.
Weapons and sensors
| Area | Equipment |
|---|---|
| Strike | Vertical launch system for the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile, Mach 2.8, against sea and land targets |
| Air defence | Barak-8 (LR-SAM) missiles against aircraft and anti-ship missiles |
| Anti-submarine | Indigenous triple-tube torpedo launchers, rocket launchers and an advanced sonar suite |
Stealth features
- Low-observability hull geometry with radar-absorbent materials shrinks the Radar Cross Section (RCS).
- Acoustic silencing lowers noise and vibration, making sonar detection harder.
Exam angle
- Who built it: MDL; the other Project 17A builder is GRSE.
- Missiles: BrahMos for strikes, Barak-8 for air defence.
- Propulsion abbreviation: CODOG.
- Relevant for defence, indigenisation and ship-builder questions.