Mumbai: INS Surat, INS Nilgiri and INS Vaghsheer were commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, giving an unprecedented boost to the country’s maritime security. INS Surat, P 158 guided missile destroyer is among the world’s most advanced warships, INS Nilgiri is a stealth frigate while INS Vaghsheer is a submarine of the P75 Scorpene project.
INS Nilgiri, the first ship of the P17A Stealth Frigate Project, has been designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and incorporates advanced features for enhanced survivability, seakeeping, and stealth, reflecting the next generation of indigenous frigates.
A remarkable feature of the two warships is that nearly 75 per cent content of INS Surat and INS Nilgiri is indigenously built.
The commanding officers as well as the captain of INS Nilgiri spoke to IANS, shedding light on the country’s maritime prowess that it will bring.
INS Nilgiri captain Nitin Kapoor termed the inauguration of three warships by PM Modi as ‘historic and unprecedented’ and said that it was a matter of immense pride for the armed forces as well as countrymen.
“INS Nilgiri is an advanced stealth frigate which can evade enemy’s radars by dissipating the signals, navigate its journey and chase away the enemies. It’s a deadly, world-class stealth frigate, which will make the country’s enemies shudder with fear,” he said while also elaborating on Nilgiri’s foray, about 52 years ago.
Lieutenant commander Madhav Jindal, also the in-charge of the gunnery section on the warship, said that this is one of the country’s leading stealth frigates, which can counter any threat at sea and at the same time, evade the enemy’s radars.
Shedding light on the re-commissioning of INS Nilgiri, he said that the Navy has a tradition of not allowing any ship to ‘die’.
“If any ship is de-commissioned, another ship of the same name is commissioned to ensure that the name lives on,” he explained.
LK Singh, whose role is to ensure the safety of the ship as well as keep the morale of crews high, informed IANS about the strategies adopted in the deep sea.
“Special effort is made to keep the crew engaged and glued to their mission i.e. to keep a watchful eye on the nation’s enemies. Sessions are organised to keep them mentally occupied and not allow homesickness to seep in,” he stated.
With the commissioning of the three boats on Wednesday, the Navy now has a fleet of 15 attack submarines, besides two ballistic missile submarines, 13 destroyers and 14 frigates.
(IANS)
