The ''Shivalik'' class or Project 17 class is a class of multi-role
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
s in service with the
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. 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
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
s of the
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...
in the first half of the 21st century. The class and the lead vessel have been named for the
Shivalik hills
The Sivalik Hills, also known as Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas.
The literal translation of "Sivalik" is 'tresses of Shiva'. The hills are known for their numerous fossils, and are also home to the Soanian Middle Paleo ...
. 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
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...
'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) or Raksha Mantralay 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 India is the cerem ...
. 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,
Ministry of Defence (India)
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) or Raksha Mantralay 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 India is the cerem ...
, 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 (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 chapathi; pronounced as IAST: ), also known as ''roti'', ''rooti'', ''rotee'', ''rotli'', '' rotta'', ''safati'', ''shabaati'', ''phulka'', ''chapo'' (in East Africa), ''sada roti'' (in the Caribbean), ''poli'' (i ...
and
dosa
Dosa may refer to:
Belief
* Dosa or dvesha, a Buddhist concept of hate or aversion
People
* Bogoljub Mitić Đoša (1968 - 2017), Serbian actor
* Csaba Dosa (born 1951), Romanian athlete
* Dosa ben Harkinas, Jewish Tanna sage
* Dosa ben S ...
makers on board.
On 11 January 2023, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procurement of
BrahMos
The BrahMos (also designated as PJ-10)Next Generation Missile Vessels.
General characteristics and propulsion
The ''Shivalik''-class frigates have a length of overall, 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 v ...
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 GELM2500+ boost turbines in CODOG 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 is a Lithuanian news agency based in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. In a day, it receives about 5,000 news articles and produces about 300 articles in Lithuanian, Russian, and English. ELTA cooperates with foreign news agencies such as R ...
EL/M-2238 STAR
* 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 suite.
Armament
The ''Shivalik''-class frigates are equipped with a mix of Russian, Indian and Israeli weapon systems. These include the
OTO Melara 76 mm
The OTO Melara 76 mm gun, marketed as the OTO 76/62 Gun Mount, is a naval autocannon built and designed by the Italian Defense contractor, defence company OTO Melara. It is based on the OTO Melara 76/62C and evolved toward 76/62 SR and 76/ ...
BrahMos
The BrahMos (also designated as PJ-10)Shtil-1 anti-aircraft missiles (24 missiles, 3S-90 launcher),
RBU-6000
The RBU-6000 Smerch-2 (Реактивно-Бомбовая Установка, ''Reaktivno-Bombovaja Ustanovka''; rocket-bomb installation & Смерч; waterspout) is a 213 mm caliber Soviet anti-submarine rocket launcher. The system enter ...
anti-submarine rocket launchers and 6–324 mm ILAS 3 (2 triple) torpedoes. Two 8-cell VLS Barak SAM paired with two
AK-630
The AK-630 is a Soviet Union, 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 ...
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; its development was prolonged due to multiple factors including the Indian Army's requ ...
All the three ships of the class were constructed at the
Mazagon Dock Limited
Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) (IAST: ''Majhagānv Dawk Shipbuilders Limiṭeḍ''), formerly called Mazagon Dock Limited, is a company with shipyards situated in Mazagaon, Mumbai. It manufactures warships and submarines for the Indian ...
. 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 Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas.
The literal translation of "Sivalik" is 'tresses of Shiva'. The hills are known for their numerous fossils, and are also home to the Soanian Middle Pale ...
, ''Satpura'' after the
Satpura range
The Satpura Range, formerly also known as the Seeonee Hills, 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 paralle ...
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 (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 South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...
. 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 People's Liberation Army Navy, also known as the People's Navy, PLA Navy or simply Chinese Navy, is the naval warfare military branch, branch of the People's Liberation Army, the national military of the People's Republic of China. It i ...
.
The second ship, INS ''Satpura'', participated in the Malabar 2012 exercise with the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
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
The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all U ...
'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 an anti-hijack exercise.India, China agree to deepen naval ties after landmark exercise