Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL)’s battleship Mahendragiri was launched in Mumbai on Friday, with Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar characterizing it as a “significant milestone in our maritime history.”
According to the Vice President, one of the reasons for this was that a significant 75 percent of orders for Nilgiri class equipment and systems were placed with domestic manufacturers.
“I am sure that Mahendragiri, once commissioned, will proudly fly the tiranga (national tricolour) across the oceans, as an ambassador of India’s maritime might,” Dhankhar, whose wife Sudesh launched the warship, told the audience, which included Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, as well as Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar.
In addition to congratulating the maritime force, the Vice President remarked that “the Indian armed forces have made considerable strides in gender equality, with a strong presence of over 10,000 women across the army, navy, and air force.”
Mahendragiri, named after a mountain peak in Odisha’s Eastern Ghats, is the final of seven Nilgiri-class stealth frigates created under Project17A and is equipped with stealth features, advanced weapons, sensors, and platform management systems, according to the Indian Navy.
Admiral Hari Kumar, Chief of Naval Staff, noted that the launch comes at an opportune time to meet the requirement for an assured umbrella of security, which is required to preserve our nation’s aspirational trajectory.
“At sea, the traditional security challenges in the Indian Ocean Region, and the larger Indo-Pacific continue to persist. Add to it, the scourge of non-traditional challenges such as piracy, drug smuggling, natural disasters, etc. continues,” the Navy head warned.
He stated that the “Navy has a mandate to not only pursue, protect, preserve, and promote India’s national maritime interests, but also to be proactive in tackling security threats that affect all in the region”
In that connection, the Admiral pointed to the Prime Minister’s goal of SAGAR — Security and Growth for All in the Region — which, incidentally, has just celebrated its 100th month in operation.
