Indigenous naval platforms Dunagiri, Sanshodhak and Agray to be commissioned at Kolkata

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will commission three indigenous naval platforms at the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port in Kolkata on June 21. The frigate Dunagiri, the survey vessel Sanshodhak and the anti-submarine craft Agray all enter service the same day, each built for a different job at sea.

The Prime Minister will also address the gathering.

Three ships, one Kolkata yard

All three were designed by the Indian Navy's Warship Design Bureau and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers, a Kolkata based defence shipyard. Between them they cover surface combat, hydrographic survey and anti-submarine work. The Ministry of Defence places the day within the Navy's effort to balance blue water reach against maritime domain awareness and coastal security.

Dunagiri leads the combat line

Dunagiri is the fifth Project 17A stealth frigate. It carries BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, whose indigenous booster line recently crossed its hundredth unit, and the Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) system. The Navy calls it a multi role combatant able to work across the surface, air and underwater dimensions at once.

Sanshodhak takes the survey role

Sanshodhak is the fourth of the Navy's large survey vessels. Its work is hydrographic survey in coastal and deep water, gathering oceanographic and geophysical data that feeds military charts and civilian use alike. The vessel carries autonomous underwater vehicles and remotely operated vehicles for seabed mapping.

Agray and the shallow water hunt

Agray is the fourth Arnala class anti-submarine warfare craft, built for shallow littoral waters near the coast. It carries lightweight torpedoes, indigenous rocket launchers and a shallow water sonar suite to find and neutralise submarines close to shore.

Indigenous naval platforms and the MSME base

The three indigenous naval platforms drew on more than 200 micro, small and medium enterprises, the kind of supplier base the Aatmanirbhar Bharat drive in warship building leans on, and indigenous content across the ships runs past 75 percent. That places the commissioning alongside a run of homegrown inductions, including the recent air cushion vehicle handed to the Coast Guard, and within a year in which Indian defence production reached a record figure. The Ministry of Defence ties the supplier spread to direct and indirect employment along the shipbuilding chain, and credits the public sector yards, private industry and the MSMEs alongside the Navy and the government for the work.