Tag Archives: GRSE

Navy

Landing Craft Utility

Kolkata, 31 December 20: Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd., (GRSE), a leading warship building and Mini-ratna Category 1 Company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence, tops off year 2020 with «Delivery» of the «Last of Eight LCU Project» & «Start Production» of the First Ship of Eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASWSWC) Project.

IN LCU L-58 (Yard 2099)
GRSE Delivers 106th Warship: LCU L-58 Bids Adieu to 2020, Achieving A Double Milestone

GRSE delivered IN LCU L-58 (Yard 2099), eighth and last in the series of Landing Craft Utility Ships to the Indian Navy. This ship is the 106th Warship built and delivered by GRSE so far, since its inception in 1960, the highest no. of warships delivered by any Indian Shipyard till date.

The Protocol of delivery and acceptance was signed between Rear Admiral VK Saxena, IN (Retired), Chairman & Managing Director, GRSE and Lieutenant Commander Krishan Kumar Yadav in the presence of Commodore Sanjeev Nayyar, IN (Retired), Director (Shipbuilding), Commodore P R Hari, Director (Personnel) and Shri RK Dash, Director (Finance) and other Senior Officials of GRSE and Indian Navy.

The LCU is the third ship delivered by GRSE in 2020, no mean feat considering the operational constraints imposed by the global pandemic of COVID 19. The Shipyard has delivered 14 ships in the last 42 months which clocks an average of 3 months per ship. The complete design of the LCU Mark IV ships has been developed in-house by GRSE as per requirements specified by the Indian Navy which necessitate a unique design with no precedence worldwide. The 62.8 m/206 feet long and 11 m/36 feet wide LCU has a displacement of 830 T and can achieve a speed of 15 knots/17 mph/28 km/h. The LCU is designed to accommodate 216 personnel and is equipped with Two Indigenous CRN 91 Guns to provide Artillery Fire support during landing operations. The ship is fitted with State-of-the-Art Equipment and Advanced Systems like the Integrated Bridge System (IBS) and the Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS). In line with the Govt. of India’s Make In India Initiative towards Self Reliance & Indigenisation efforts, the LCU Mark IV Class of Ships are fitted with close to 90% indigenous equipment fit and multiple innovations.

LCU L-58 being delivered by GRSE today to the Indian Navy shall join the fleet of ships at Andaman & Nicobar Command. The Andaman & Nicobar Archipelago whilst acting as the extended arms of India, straddle one of the busiest trade routes in the world leading into the South China Sea and keeping the islands safe is one of the chief responsibilities of the Indian Navy. The Eight LCUs with high military lift capabilities built by GRSE, shall form the backbone of the Maritime Security Cover and HADR activity in the A&N Archipelago.

GRSE is also currently executing three major projects of the Indian Navy pertaining to the construction of 03 Stealth Frigates, 04 Survey Vessel (Large) ships and 08 Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts. The last two projects have been won on competitive bidding.

Today is also the ‘Start Production’ Day for the First of Eight ASWSWCs which is the first ‘Milestone’ in shipbuilding and signifies commencement of vessel construction after design engineering phase. The compact and complex stealth crafts are designed by GRSE. The platforms will be packed with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors like Hull Mounted Sonar, Towed Sonar, Torpedo Launchers and Rocket Launcher to interdict and destroy sub-surface targets in coastal waters. The crafts are capable of ‘Search & Rescue’ and ‘Low Intensity Maritime Operations’ and are propelled by water-jets capable of doing high speeds.

Since its takeover by the Government of India in 1960, GRSE has delivered high-end warships ranging from Fast Patrol Vessels, Survey Vessels, LSTs, LCUs, Fleet Tanker, Frigates and Missile & ASW Corvettes. The shipyard also has the distinction of achieving over 90% indigenous content, onboard ASW Corvettes, a significant advancement towards self-reliance in state-of-the-art warship design and construction. Having modernized its infrastructure facilities, GRSE is using Advanced Modular Integrated Shipbuilding Technology in line with the best in the world. This has helped enhance its capacity to the present level of constructing 20 warships concurrently. On 14 December 2020, GRSE created history with the launching of first of three Stealth Frigates, «Himgiri» under prestigious Project 17A.

The shipyard has a healthy order book of over Rs 26,000/-Crore for construction of 15 warships of the Navy to be completed progressively by the year 2027. GRSE has also diversified into ‘Engineering’ business and more than 5300 Portable Steel Bridges have been supplied to Indian Army, Border Road Organisation and State Governments. These bridges have also been exported to friendly neighborhood countries including, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka & Bhutan. GRSE also undertakes production of Deck Machinery Items which are fitted on GRSE built ships as well as those built by other shipyards in the country. Assembly, Testing and Overhauling of MTU Diesel Engines is undertaken at GRSE’s Diesel Engine Plant at Ranchi.

Navy

Project 17A ship

‘Himgiri’, the first of the three Project 17A ships being built at M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE), Kolkata was launched today, 14 December 2020. She made her first contact with the waters of Hoogly River at 1335 Hrs. at the launch ceremony, General Bipin Rawat, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was the Chief Guest. In keeping with Naval traditions Smt Madhulika Rawat, spouse of CDS launched the ship to the chanting of invocations from the Atharva Veda. The ship has taken its name and crest of the second Frigate of the Leander Class of ships, which incidentally was launched 50 years ago in 1970.

INS Himgiri
Indian Navy Ship Himgiri 1st of 3 project 17A being built at GRSE Kolkata was launched on 14 December 2020

Under the Project 17A program, a total of seven ships, four at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and three ships at GRSE are being built with enhanced stealth features, advanced indigenous weapon and sensor fit along with several other improvements. The launch of ‘Himgiri’ has showcased GRSE’s commitment towards the building of three state-of-the-art warships of P17A for Indian Navy. Over the years, GRSE has emerged as a leading shipyard having built over 100 ships. The yard has scaled up its infrastructure and skill set to meet new challenges in building of P17A ships. P17A ships are the first gas turbine propulsion and largest combat platforms ever built at GRSE.

Since its inception, Project 17A has upheld India’s vision for Atmanirbhar Bharat. P17A ships have been indigenously designed by Directorate of Naval Design (Surface Ship Design Group) – DND(SSG), and are being built at indigenous yards namely MDL and GRSE. Naval shipbuilding provides a great opportunity to energise our economy post COVID-19. Project 17A ships are sourcing 80% of the material/ equipment required for the project from indigenous vendors and with employment generation for over 2000 Indian firms and MSMEs within the country. Modular construction of the ship through outsourcing, and integrated construction methodology are being used to enhance GRSE’s productivity for delivery of ship targeted in August 2023.

Navy

Indian Navy

It said in The Times of India that in a major step towards building a formidable blue-water Navy for the future, the Modi government has cleared the indigenous construction of seven stealth frigates and six nuclear-powered attack submarines, which together will cost well upwards of Rs 1 lakh crore ($16.1 billion).

The Project 17A is a follow-on of the Project 17 Shivalik-class frigate for the Indian Navy
The Project 17A is a follow-on of the Project 17 Shivalik-class frigate for the Indian Navy

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) took these decisions in tune with the «critical necessity» for India to bolster its «overall deterrence capability» in the entire Indian Ocean Region (IOR), especially its primary area of strategic interest stretching from the Persian Gulf to Malacca Strait.

Under the over Rs 50,000 crore «Project-17A» for stealth frigates, four will be constructed at Mazagon Docks Limited (MDL) in Mumbai and three in Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata. «The contract will be inked with MDL and GRSE this month itself, with an initial payment of Rs 4,000 crore», said a source.

Both the defence shipyards are already geared up for the project because it’s a «follow-on» to the three 6,100-tonne stealth frigates built by MDL, INS Shivalik, INS Satpura and INS Sahyadari, which were inducted in 2010-2012.

The new multi-mission frigates will be larger, faster and stealthier than the Shivaliks as well as packed with more weapons and sensors to operate in «a multi-threat environment». Nevertheless, it could well take a decade, if not more, to build all the seven frigates.

The complex project for the nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) will take longer. After the CCS approval, technical parameters or Naval Staff Qualitative Requirements (NSQRs) will now be drafted for the over 6,000-tonne submarines.

INS Shivalik is the lead ship of her class of stealth multi-role frigates built for the Indian Navy
INS Shivalik is the lead ship of her class of stealth multi-role frigates built for the Indian Navy

The SSNs are likely to be constructed at the secretive Ship-Building Centre (SBC) in Vizag, where India’s first three SSBNs (nuclear-powered submarines with nuclear ballistic missiles) are being built to complete the country’s nuclear weapons triad.

The government has basically «reworked» the 30-year diesel-electric submarine-building plan, approved by the CCS in 1999, which envisaged induction of 12 new conventional submarines by 2012, followed by another dozen by 2030. However, with no new submarine inducted until now, the government has decided to go in for six SSNs and 18 conventional vessels, said sources.

Nuclear-powered submarines are much deadlier than diesel-electric submarines since they do not need to surface every few days to get oxygen to recharge their batteries. «SSNs, which usually carry only conventional missiles, can swiftly and quietly undertake long-range patrols. They can run at high speeds like 30 knots (34.5 mph/55.5 km/h) for much longer distances, hunting for targets and gathering intelligence», said an expert.

INS Chakra, the nuclear-powered Akula-II class SSN taken on a 10-year lease from Russia, may not be armed with long-range missiles due to international treaties, but has bolstered India’s depleting underwater combat arm that is currently grappling with just 13 ageing conventional diesel-electric submarines.

Armed with 300-km (162 NM/186 miles) range Klub-S land-attack cruise missiles and advanced torpedoes, INS Chakra can be a potent «hunter-killer» of enemy submarines and warships as well as provide effective protection to a fleet at sea.

INS Chakra, the nuclear-powered submarine taken on a 10-year lease from Russia
INS Chakra, the nuclear-powered submarine taken on a 10-year lease from Russia