Indian Navy commissions indigenous INS Mahe

Mumbai: The Indian Navy on Monday commissioned INS Mahe, the first of the Mahe-class anti-submarine warfare shallow-water craft, which will form the first line of coastal defence, integrating seamlessly with larger surface combatants, submarines, and aviation assets.

Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi was the chief guest here at the commissioning ceremony of INS Mahe, marking the new generation of indigenous shallow-water combatants - sleek, swift and resolutely Indian.

INS Mahe’s commissioning not only marks the induction of a potent new platform to the country’s maritime order of battle, but it also reaffirms India’s maritime capability to design, construct and field complex combatants with indigenous technologies, Gen Dwivedi said.

An official said this was also the first time that an Army chief was present at the commissioning of a naval ship.

Following the ceremony, Gen Dwivedi also awarded the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Commendation to the Navy personnel who played a key role in the commissioning of the ship

The Indian Navy plays an important role in the neighbourhood as well as in the global environment in far-off lands where the Army’s efforts can play both a supplementary and a complementary role in soft and hard diplomacy, Gen Dwivedi said.