First of 16 sub-hunting ships to be commissioned today

Tribune News Service

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New Delhi, June 17

The Indian Navy will tomorrow commission the first of its new lot of 16 next-generation ships that are being manufactured at a cost of Rs 13,000 crore and are capable of detecting enemy submarines in shallow waters.

Public sector enterprises Cochin Shipyard Limited and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE)-Kolkata have been contracted to manufacture eight ships each. The GRSE has entered into a public-private partnership with L&T Shipbuilders to produce the ships.

Called anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft (ASW-SWC), the first of the lot, named Arnala and constructed by the GRSE, will be commissioned at the Visakhapatnam Naval Dockyard. It is named after the historic Arnala Fort off Vasai in Maharashtra.

The primary role of these ASW-SWC ships is to detect, track and prosecute enemy submarines, particularly in coastal and shallow water regions. Equipped with advanced underwater sensors such as the hull-mounted sonar Abhay, underwater acoustic communication system and low-frequency sonar, these vessels are capable of comprehensive underwater surveillance.

To neutralise underwater threats, the ships feature a state-of-the-art weapon suite, including lightweight torpedoes, rockets, anti-torpedo decoys and advanced mine-laying capabilities.

Arnala and its class of its ships will be equipped to conduct subsurface surveillance, search and rescue missions and low-intensity maritime operations. This 77.6-metre-long warship with a gross tonnage of over 1,490 tonnes incorporates more than 80 per cent indigenous content and integrates advanced systems from leading Indian defence firms, including Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), L&T, Mahindra Defence and MEIL.

The project has engaged over 55 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), promoting domestic industry and generating related economic activity.