On Jan 15, 2 ships & sub to bolster Navy muscle

INDIA's maritime capability and indigenous shipbuilding prowess get a major boost on January 15 of the new year when the Navy commissions three combat platforms—a frigate, a destroyer and a submarine.

- MAYANK SINGH @ New Delhi

The Navy on Wednesday said it is preparing to "commission three frontline combatants: Nilgiri, the lead ship of the Project 17A stealth frigate class; Surat, the fourth and final ship of the Project 15B stealth destroyer class; and Vaghsheer, the sixth and final submarine of the Scorpene-class project, together at the Naval Dockyard, Mumbai."

It is entirely a Make in India exercise. "All three platforms have been designed and constructed entirely at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Mumbai, a testament to India's growing self-reliance in defence production."

Their production catapults India into the global defence manufacturing club as well.