The seventh and last frigate of the advanced Nilgiri-class frigates of the Indian Navy was launched today (1 September) by Mazagon Dockyard Limited (MDL) in Mumbai.

The newly launched frigate was constructed under Project-17 Alpha, which involves the construction of seven new-generation stealth frigates for the Indian Navy using advanced technologies.

These frigates are being built by two state-run shipyards — MDL and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE).

Four of the frigates — INS Nilgiri, Udaygiri, Taragiri, and Mahendragiri are being manufactured by MDL, while the remaining three, INS Himgiri, Dunagiri, and Vindhyagiri, by GRSE.

This milestone comes just a fortnight after President Droupadi Murmu launched the sixth frigate, INS Vindhyagiri, made by GRSE in Kolkata.

These ships are follow-on versions of the three Project-17 vessels, also known as the Shivalik-class frigates in the Indian Navy.

According to reports, the first two frigates are expected to be delivered to the Navy by 2024, with the remaining five being inducted by 2026.

The stealth frigate is designed by Indian Navy's in-house Warship Design Bureau.

The stealth frigate Mahendragiri has a flush-deck design and is constructed using a significant amount of composite materials, including radar-absorbent materials, which reduce its radar cross-section, making the frigate harder to detect and engage using anti-ship missiles.

The 6,670-ton frigate will be equipped with an indigenously designed CMS-17A combat management system, providing highly sophisticated and secure data links for uninterrupted interoperability among multiple navy surface and aerial assets.

Armed with eight BrahMos supersonic anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles and 32 Barak-8 medium-range surface-to-air missiles, the 149-m frigate packs a formidable punch.

The Israeli EL/M-2248 multi-function surveillance, track, and guidance radar or MF-STAR provides exceptional situational awareness capabilities to the frigate.

The EL/M-2248 can detect a fighter jet-sized target from a maximum range of over 400 km.