Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday launched two indigenously built warships, the INS Surat and the INS Udaygiri at the Mazagon Docks in Mumbai.
This is the first time that two indigenously built warships have been launched concurrently, Mazgaon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd stated.
The INS Surat is the fourth ship of Project 15B Destroyers, which heralds a significant makeover of the P15A (Kolkata Class) destroyers, and is named after the commercial capital of Gujarat, the Indian Navy stated.
The Project 15B class of ships are the Indian Navy's next generation stealth guided missile destroyers being built at the Mazagon Docks.
The INS Udaygiri, named after a mountain range in Andhra Pradesh, is the third ship of Project 17A frigates. It is a follow up of P17 frigates (Shivalik Class) with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems, the Indian Navy stated
The new warship is the reincarnation of the erstwhile INS Udaygiri, the Leander Class ASW frigate, which saw numerous challenging operations in its illustrious service to the country, spanning over three decades from February 1976 to August 2007.
