On March 13, 2024, two new warships for the Indian Navy to augment anti-submarine operations in coastal waters and low intensity maritime operations were launched in Kolkata.
The two anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft (ASW-SWC) built by the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE) were launched by Neeta Chaudhari, the wife of the esteemed Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari.
She named the two ships as INS Agray and INS Akshay. The primary role of an ASW-SWC is to conduct anti-submarine operations in coastal waters and low intensity maritime and mine laying operations, a GRSE official said.
Speaking at the launch, the chief guest VR Chaudhari said that “It is a great matter of immense pride that India is one of the select countries in the world with a capacity to build modern warships, submarines and aircraft carriers.”
Stating that the Sea Lanes of Communications (SLOC) are an important contributor to the world trade and prosperity, the Air Chief Marshal said in recent events, especially in the Red Sea have highlighted threats in the maritime environment. “A large number of Indian naval Ships are patrolling the high seas and rendering assistance to safeguard the seafarers and merchant vessels of different nationalities,” he said.
Chaudhari said that the Navy is inducting a large number of different types of ships from indigenous shipbuilding industries. The advanced ASW SWC launched on March 13, 2024 had over 80 percent indigenous content and with majority of the systems sourced from home grown manufacturers.
The Chairman and the Managing Director of the GRSE, Commodore PR Hari said that the Kolkata based warship has delivered 71 warships to the Indian Navy so far. At present, the GRSE was executing four projects of the Indian Navy comprising 18 warships.
“We are aspiring to be a global leader in warship building,” he said, maintaining that GRSE has the best human resources of the country including world class infrastructure and facilities. The ships launched on March 13, 2024 are the fifth and sixth in a series of eight ASW-SWC being built by the Indian Navy (GRSE) with four ships of the same class having been launched already.
These 77.6 meter long and 10.5-meter-wide warships are capable of reaching maximum speeds of 25 knots the GRSE official said. These ships pack a lethal anti-submarine comprising lightweight torpedoes, ASW rockets, mines and guns, he said.
