Stealth and Strength: PM Modi Unveils INS Nilgiri, INS Surat, and INS Vagsheer

• Mazagon Dock’s Triumph : A Triple Whammy
• 3 Cutting-Edge Naval Vessels Commissioned

By Commodore Ranjit B Rai

Mumbai. 17 January 2025. On 15^th January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned the 6,400-ton stealth frigate INS Nilgiri (Capt Nitin Kapoor), the 6,600-ton stealth destroyer INS Surat (Capt Sandeep Shourie), and INS Vagsheer (Cdr Vineet Sharma), the sixth and last in the Type 75 series of the Scorpene submarines at the Cruiser Wharf of Mumbai’s Naval Dockyard. This event was a milestone for India’s Navy and the warships shipbuilder Mazagon Docks Shipbuilders Ltd (MDSL). All three warships will join the Western Fleet, another step to provide India with more significant power at sea.

The earlier name for Surat was Porbundar. It was changed to Surat, whose crest depicts the Lion of the Gir forest with the motto, ‘We Dare’. PM Modi, seated with VIPs on the dais on the helicopter deck of INS Surat, witnessed the three Commissioning Commanding Officers read out the Commissioning Warrants issued by the Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi. In his address, PM Modi recalled India’s maritime history and how leaders like Maharaj Shivaji and his Navy bravely opposed the foreign navies in the 15^th century, but we were weak at sea. PM congratulated the Navy and all who had contributed to the building of the three warships. He also extolled the virtues of the Gir Lion to tell the world that India looks to peace and prosperity for all, as well as security of the seas and freedom of navigation, as the majestic lion depicts on Surat’s crest. The crest of the Nilgiri depicts the ‘Blazing Bull’ of the Nilgiris, and the ‘Diving Whale’ is on Vagsheer’s crest, appropriate for the deep seas that submarines operate in. With a smile and a look of pride that this author saw and heard, PM Modi confess that he genuinely enjoyed attending Naval functions. The sea of white uniforms in the sunshine and calm weather made it an excellent setting for the function.

Some large navies have commissioned ships of the ‘same series’ together, but not such a mix of designs totalling 15,000 tons of steel for around Rs 11,000 crores with varied equipment and constructed by the same shipyard MDSL  in the heart of Mumbai. The ceremony was near perfect as PM helicoptered into INS Shikra in Colaba after landing in Mumbai and drove into the dockyard in a cavalcade to take the salute and inspect the guard of honour. The Navy has commissioned forty large ships at the same berth and issued check-off lists, coloured invitation cards, and clear instructions for easy access from Ballard Pier with swift security checks.

The brochures on each chair had details of the ships and names of the key officers, and in the case of Vagsheer, the names of the 11 officers and the 46 submariners. The submarine arm of any Navy is its front-line fighting arm in war. It exercises the fleet in anti-submarine warfare and executes errands for intelligence in peace, so this was a fitting gesture to name each sailor. The families of those serving on Surat Nilgiri and Vagsheer were seated in one pandal and PM waved past them.

The Western Naval Command under Vice Admiral Sanjay J Singh, on behalf of the Chief of Naval Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi served post-commissioning refreshments to the guests, which included Flag and civilian Officers, the staff of MDSL, Naval Dockyard and SMEs and suppliers of equipment and naval officers and sailors, and gave pride of place to the few surviving officers and sailors of the old 2,600 ton INS Nilgiri commissioned in 1972 and Vagsheer commissioned in 1975. Most are no more or aged, and they were remembered.

It must be recalled that on 3rd June 1972, India’s first large warship, INS Nilgiri of the Leander class, commanded by the late Captain Daljit Paintal, was commissioned by PM Mrs Indira Gandhi in the same Naval Dockyard. Nilgiri was the first large warship ordered by the Navy in collaboration with Yarrow Shipyard of Glasgow when Rear Admiral SM Nanda was the Chairman of Mazagon Docks. She was the first ship to embark an ASW Alouttee (Chetak) helicopter and had two Seacat AA missile directors. The warship set the benchmark for three more Leanders and the larger Taragiri and Vindhyagiri and the Godavari class followed with extended designs made by naval designers. They embarked the bigger ASW Seaking helicopters.

The new INS Nilgiri is the lead ship of the Project 17A class frigates and is a follow-on advancement over the Shivalik-class frigates designed by the Navy’s Design Bureau. Nilgiri has modern stealth features to reduce detection, such as an enclosed mooring deck and a low infrared signature. The frigate is equipped with the upgraded Otto Melara 76mm Super Rapid Gun Mount supplied by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), which is capable of firing innovative ammunition. The ship has eight 750 km anti-ship and anti-land BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles rated the world’s leader and 32 Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles, both made in India and supported by the multi-functional (M/F) Star radar supplied by ELTA of Israel. The ship can operate the older 42B Seakings and the new Seahawk MH60R anti-ship and anti-submarine helicopters. It also has a suite of Ellora electronic warfare receivers and jammers. The ship is ergonomic- designed with accommodations for a complement of over 300 women officers and sailors, aligning with the Navy’s progressive steps of Nari Shakti toward gender inclusion in frontline combat roles. The introduction of the Logistic branch with highly educated graduate men and more women has helped streamline the Navy’s logistics and shore-based facilities and as aides to Flag officers.

The INS Surat is the fourth and final ship of the Project 15B class destroyers, following the INS Vishakhapatnam, Mormugao, and Imphal. It has the same weapon fit as in Nilgiri but improved design and capabilities over its predecessors, including advanced stealth features. Surat has the RAWL air radar, while Nilgiri has the newer Spanish Lanza 3D Air Surveillance Radar for a multi-threat scenario built in India by Tata Defence, which combines significant advances with a planar array, solid-state amplifiers and signal processing technology to achieve radar detection of the air picture for operations.

INS Vaghsheer is the sixth and final submarine of the Kalvari-class Project 75, based on the French Scorpene design. This diesel-electric attack submarine is designed for various surveillance missions, anti-surface anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, and special operations. It has wire-guided torpedoes, SM 40 Exocet anti-ship missiles, and advanced sonar systems. The submarine also features modular construction and SUBTICS control of operations and weapons. It has a plotting table displaying the worldwide sea picture with inputs as the world atlas is incorporated. The submarine design allows for future upgrades, such as integrating Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology with a plug (additional compartment), enabling submarines to operate underwater for extended periods without surfacing. This is planned for the older Scorpenes that go in for refit.

The simultaneous commissioning of these three warships with around 75% India-supplied equipment is a significant leap forward in realising India’s vision of becoming a regional and later a global leader in defence manufacturing and maritime security. The Navy’s suppliers and SMEs have made many strides in exports, and the naval Brahmos missile sale by DRDO to the Philippines for $ 375 in 2021 is a big step. The Navy contributes heavily to PM Modi’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) and the QUAD, which calls for a high tempo of operations in the region and exercises in the Indo-Pacific.

As a footnote, some media writers have been unkind to the Navy by stating that the Indian Navy’s ships are still dependent on imports. No nation has an entire industry to supply every weapon, engine, radar and equipment, and even US, UK and European navy ships have some import content from friendly nations. Unless it is economical in numbers, imports are resorted to with ample spares to cater for urgent needs, except for strategic systems. These are attempted at home and examples are classified.