GRSE lays keel for final ASW SWC for Indian Navy
New Delhi: The Garden Reach Shipbuilder and Engineering Limited (GRSE), is soon to execute the eighth anti-submarine warfare shallow watercraft (ASW SWC) for the Indian Navy.
On Friday, the keel laying ceremony was held in Kolkata in the presence of Vice Admiral B Sivakumar, Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition.
GRSE is currently working on three warship-building projects for the Indian Navy and one for the Indian Coast Guard, with a total value of around Rs 25,000 crore.
These projects include the notable P17A Project, which involves constructing three advanced frigates (a small fast ship in the navy that travels with other ships to protect them), as well as two competitively won projects.
In March of this year, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) launched two anti-submarine warfare shallow watercraft (ASW SWC). The ships were named INS Agray and INS Akshay by Neeta Chaudhari, wife of the Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari.
The contract for the indigenous design and construction of eight ASW SWC ships was signed on April 29, 2019, between the Ministry of Defence and GRSE, Kolkata. So far, six ships from the project have already been launched, with the first ship, INS Arnala, scheduled for delivery in August 2024, the defence ministry confirmed.
The primary purpose of an ASW SWC is to perform anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, as well as low-intensity maritime missions and mine-laying activities.
Meanwhile, officials further claimed that ships are manufactured with 80 per cent indigenous content with the majority of the equipment and systems sourced from homegrown manufacturers.
The Indian Navy officials also confirmed that the Arnala class ships are set to replace the Indian Navy’s existing Abhay class ASW corvettes.
These vessels are designed to perform anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, engage in low-intensity maritime operations (LIMO), and carry out mine-laying missions.
Commodore PR Hari, IN (Retd), the Chairman and Managing Director of GRSE, along with other senior officials from the Indian Navy and GRSE were also present during the keel laying ceremony of Yard 3034, the last ship of the project is yet another significant milestone in Indian Navy’s pursuit towards indigenous shipbuilding and aligns with ‘self-reliance’ initiatives of the nation.
According to a GRSE official, these warships are 77.6 meters long and 10.5 meters wide, capable of reaching maximum speeds of 25 knots. They are equipped with a potent anti-submarine armament, including lightweight torpedoes, ASW rockets, mines, and guns.
