The ''Shivalik'' class or Project 17 class is a class of multi-role stealth frigates in service with the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates si ...

. They are the first stealth warships built in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. They were designed to have better stealth features and land-attack capabilities than the preceding s. A total of three ships were built between 2000 and 2010, and all three were in commission by 2012. The ''Shivalik'' class, along with the seven Project 17A frigates currently being developed from them, are projected be the principal frigates of the

in the first half of the 21st century. All ships of the class were built by

Mazagon Dock Limited Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) (IAST: ''Majhagānv Dawk Limiṭeḍ''), formerly called Mazagon Dock Limited, is a shipyard situated in Mazagaon, Mumbai. It manufactures warships and submarines for the Indian Navy and offshore platfor ...

. The class and the lead vessel have been named for the

Shivalik hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the Ind ...

. Subsequent vessels in the class are also named for hill-ranges in India.

Design and description

''Project 17'' was conceived in the 1990s to meet the

's need for a class of stealthy frigates that were to be designed and built in India.2003–04 Annual Report of the Ministry of Defence
, India.MoD – Report on Major Activities, 2002–05
,

Ministry of Defence (India) The Ministry of Defence (MoD) (IAST: ''Rakshā Mantrālaya'') is charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Indian Armed Forces. The President of Indi ...

. The Directorate of Naval Design (DND)'s specifications for the project called for a class of "5000 ton stealth frigates (Project 17) incorporating advanced signature suppression and signature management features".The Corps of Naval Constructors – Building Self Reliance
, MoD Samachar,

, 1 December 2006. The first three units were formally ordered by the Indian Navy in early 1999. ''Shivalik''s design embodies many firsts in Indian ships. ''Shivalik'' is the first Indian naval vessel to use a

combined diesel or gas Combined diesel or gas (CODOG) is a type of propulsion system for ships that need a maximum speed that is considerably faster than their cruise speed, particularly warships like modern frigates or corvettes. For every propeller shaft there is ...

(CODOG) propulsion system. The CODOG gearboxes were designed and built by Elecon Engineering. The main features of the class are its stealth characteristics and land-attack capability. The ships incorporate structural, thermal and acoustic stealth features. The vessels use 10 gigabit LAN for their network. There has also been an increased emphasis on crew comfort in this class of ships with more spacious accommodation being provided. Also, INS ''Shivalik'' is the first ship in the Indian Navy with

chapati Chapati (alternatively spelled chapatti, chappati, chapathi, or chappathi; pronounced as IAST: ), also known as ''roti'', ''rotli'', ''safati'', ''shabaati'', ''phulka'', (in East Africa) ''chapo'', (in Marathi) ''poli'', and (in the Maldives) ...

- and dosa-makers on board.

General characteristics and propulsion

The ''Shivalik''-class frigates have a length of

overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

, a beam of and a

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

of . The ships displace about at normal load and at full load. The complement is about 257, including 35 officers. They use two Pielstick 16 PA6 STC Diesel engines and two GE LM2500+ boost turbines in

CODOG Combined diesel or gas (CODOG) is a type of propulsion system for ships that need a maximum speed that is considerably faster than their cruise speed, particularly warships like modern frigates or corvettes. For every propeller shaft there is o ...

configuration providing a total of of power. This allows the ships to reach a maximum speed of .

Electronics and sensors

The ''Shivalik''-class frigates are equipped with a wide range of electronics and sensors. These include: * 1 × MR-760 Fregat M2EM 3-D radar * 4 × MR-90 Orekh radars * 1 ×

ELTA ELTA may mean one of the following: Broadcasting * ELTA 1 HD, the first commercial HD cable television channel in Bosnia and Herzegovina * ELTA 2, a commercial music television channel in Bosnia and Herzegovina * , a television channel in Taiwan O ...

EL/M-2238 STAR The EL/M-2238 3D-STAR is a multi-purpose air and surface-search naval radar system developed by IAI Elta for medium-sized ships like corvettes and frigates. STAR is an acronym of Surveillance & Threat Alert Radar. Design and description It is ...

* 2 × ELTA EL/M-2221 STGR * 1 × BEL APARNA In addition, the ships use HUMSA-NG (hull-mounted sonar array) and the BEL Ellora

Electronic Warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

suite.

Armament

The ''Shivalik''-class frigates are equipped with a mix of Russian, Indian and Israeli weapon systems. These include the 76mm Otobreda naval gun,

Klub Potetball (also known as ball, klubb, kumle, komle, kompe, raspeball) is a traditional Norwegian potato dumpling. A similar German dish is called '' Kartoffelklöße''. The main ingredient is peeled potatoes, which are grated or ground up and ...

and BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missiles, Shtil-1 anti-aircraft missiles,

RBU-6000 The RBU-6000 Smerch-2 (Реактивно-Бомбовая Установка, ''Reaktivno-Bombovaja Ustanovka''; reaction engine-bomb installation & Смерч; waterspout) is a 213 mm caliber Soviet anti-submarine rocket launcher. It i ...

anti-submarine rocket launchers and 6–324 mm ILAS 3 (2 triple)torpedoes. A 32 cell VLS launched Barak SAM and

AK-630 The AK-630 is a Soviet and Russian fully automatic naval, rotary cannon, close-in weapon system. The "630" designation refers to the weapon's six gun barrels and their 30 mm caliber. The system is mounted in an enclosed automatic turret and dir ...

act as

Close-in weapon systems A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of la ...

(CIWS). The ships also carry two

HAL Dhruv The HAL Dhruv is a utility helicopter designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in November 1984. The helicopter first flew in 1992; however, its development was prolonged due to multiple factors including the Indian Army ...

or Sea King Mk. 42B helicopters.

Construction and service

All the three ships of the class were constructed at the

. The construction of the lead ship, ''Shivalik'', commenced in December 2000. The ship's keel was laid in July 2001 and was launched in April 2003. It underwent sea trials in February 2009 before being commissioned in April 2010. The second ship, ''Satpura'', was laid in October 2002. It was launched in June 2004 and commissioned in August 2011. The third and final ship, ''Sahyadri'', was laid in September 2003, launched in May 2005 and commissioned in July 2012. All the three ships are named after hill-ranges in India: ''Shivalik'' after the

Sivalik Hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as the Shivalik Hills and Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas that stretches over about from the Indus River eastwards close to the Brahmaputra River, spanning the northern parts of the India ...

, ''Satpura'' after the

Satpura range The Satpura Range is a range of hills in central India. The range rises in eastern Gujarat running east through the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and ends in Chhattisgarh. The range parallels the Vindhya Range to the north, and these ...

and ''Sahyadri'' after the Sahyadri range commonly called Western Ghats. The lead ship of the class, INS ''Shivalik'', was deployed in the North West Pacific for JIMEX 2012 (Japan-India Maritime Exercise) with four other ships which included , a ''Rajput''-class guided-missile destroyer, , a ''Deepak''-class fleet tanker, and , a ''Kora''-class corvette, and took part in India's first bi-lateral maritime exercise with Japan. The

Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) ...

(JMSDF) was represented by two destroyers, one maritime patrol aircraft and a helicopter. After the deployment in the north Pacific, the battle group was deployed in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

. As part of India's ''Look East'' policy, the ships visited the Shanghai port on 13 June 2012, for a five-day goodwill tour. INS ''Shakti'' served as the fuel and logistics tanker to the three destroyers. The ships left the port on 17 June 2012. Before leaving the port, the ships conducted a routine passage exercise with the People's Liberation Army Navy. The second ship, INS ''Satpura'', participated in the Malabar 2012 exercise with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

along with the Indian destroyers , , corvette and replenishment oiler INS ''Shakti''. The other ships which participated in the exercise included Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1 of the US Navy, consisting of: , embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17, the guided-missile cruiser and the guided-missile destroyer . Military Sealift Command's fast combat support ship also provided support for the exercise. INS ''Shivalik'' participated in the PLAN's 65th anniversary celebrations held in Qingdao sailing 4,500 miles from Port Blair without any assistance from support ships. India, Indonesia and China conducted three high level exercises including anti-hijack exercise.India, China agree to deepen naval ties after landmark exercise

Ships

Gallery

References

External links

Image of INS Shivalik launch

Novenco Pdf document

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shivalik Class Frigate Frigate classes Ships built in India Stealth ships