Two brand-new warships were launched here on Wednesday. They were built for the Indian Navy to help with anti-submarine operations in coastal seas and low-intensity maritime operations.
The two ASW SWCs, which were made by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), were christened by Neeta Chaudhari, who is married to Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, who is the Chief of Air Staff of the Indian Air Force.
The ships were named INS Agray and INS Akshay by her.
A GRSE official said that an ASW SWC’s main job is to carry out anti-submarine operations in coastal seas, as well as low-intensity maritime operations and mine-laying operations.
At the launch, Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari, who was the guest of honor, said, “It gives me great pride that India is one of only a few countries in the world that can build modern warships, submarines, and aircraft carriers.”
Chaudhari said that recent events, especially in the Red Sea, have brought to light the threats in the maritime environment. He said that sea lanes of contact are an important part of world trade and prosperity.
“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 told us.
Chaudhari said that the Navy is getting a lot of different kinds of ships from shipbuilding companies in the country.
He said that the advanced ASW SWC, which was released on Wednesday, is made up of more than 80% local materials and that most of the tools and systems came from companies in the country.
Commodore P. R. Hari (Retd), head and managing director of GRSE, said that the warship builder based in Kolkata has given the Indian Navy 71 ships so far.
Hari said that the GRSE was working on four projects for the Navy that put together 18 boats.
“We want to be a world leader in building warships,” he said, adding that GRSE has the best people in the country working for it and facilities and infrastructure that are among the best in the world.
The head of GRSE said that the Defence PSU needs more orders from the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard, especially for platforms that carry a lot of weapons, so that all of its sites stay as busy as he said they are.
The five and six ships that were launched on Wednesday are the fifth and sixth of eight ASW SWC that the GRSE is building for the Navy. Four ships of the same class have already been launched.
A GRSE source said that these warships, which are 77.6 meters long and 10.5 meters wide, can go as fast as 25 knots.
He said that these ships have deadly anti-submarine weapons like light torpedoes, ASW rockets, mines, and guns.
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