In news– The Union Defence Minister has recently launched Y- 3023 Dunagiri, Project 17A frigate built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders Limited (GRSE) in Kolkata.
What is Y- 3023 Dunagiri?
- Named after a mountain range in the state of Uttarakhand, ‘Dunagiri’ is the fourth ship of P17A Frigates.
- ‘Dunagiri’ is the reincarnation of the erstwhile ‘Dunagiri’, the Leander Class ASW Frigate
- ‘Dunagiri’ would be a world class stealth frigate with multidimensional capabilities to destroy enemies from sea, sky, and underwater.
About Project 17A frigate-
- P17A Frigates are a follow-on class of the P17 (Shivalik Class) Frigates with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems.
- Seven P17A Frigates are under various stages of construction at Mazagaon Dock Limited (MDL) and GRSE.
- The first two ships(INS Nilgiri & Himagiri) of P17A Project, were launched in 2019 and 2020.
- The third ship (Udaygiri) was launched at MDL on 17 May 2022 earlier this year.
- P17A ships have been designed in-house by the Indian Navy’s Directorate of Naval Design (DND).
- These ships are fitted with a 76mm main gun, two 30 mm AK-630M anti-aircraft artillery systems, two torpedo tubes, launchers for eight BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles and Barak-8 surface to air missiles.
Garden Reach Shipbuilders Limited (GRSE)-
- It is one of India’s leading shipyards, located in Kolkata, West Bengal.
- It builds and repairs commercial and naval vessels.
- Founded in 1884 as a small privately owned company on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, it was renamed as Garden Reach Workshop in 1916.
- The company was nationalised by the Government of India in 1960.
- It was awarded the Miniratna status, with accompanying financial and operational autonomy in September 2006.
- It is the first Indian shipyard to build 100 warships.
Source: PIB
