India Launches ‘INS Nilgiri’ Stealth Frigate

India has launched the first of its seven planned Project 17 Alpha (P17A)-class stealth-capable frigates, the INS Nilgiri, today.

“The INS Nilgiri is the first of the Indian Navy's seven new stealth frigates with enhanced stealth features fitted with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors,” Rajnath Singh, Defense Minister of India, announced in a tweet.

The Nilgiri-class guided-missile frigate is a follow-on of the Project 17 Shivalik-class frigate for the Indian Navy. Each boat has a displacement of about 6,700 tonnes. The cost of the seven frigates being built by Mazagon Dock and GRSE currently stands at over INR 48,000 crore ($6.8 Billion).

The construction of the first ship started in 2017, and it is expected to delivered by 2022.