India Launches Three Submarine Tracking Warships In Six Months; Will Deny Chinese, Pakistani Submarines Access To Indian Waters

Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) has launched the third anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft (ASW-SWC) 'Anjadip' for the Indian Navy on Tuesday (13 June).

Anjadip is the third vessel of the eight ASW-SWC of Arnala Class ordered by the Indian Navy in 2019.

With the launch of Anjadip, GRSE has achieved a significant feat of launching three vessels of Arnala-class under six months.

Earlier, GRSE had launched INS Arnala (on 20 December 2022) and INS Androth (on 23 March 2023), the first and the second vessel of Arnala-class shallow water craft, as well.

"Launch of three ships of the same class in a span of six months reinforces our resolve towards indigenous shipbuilding as part of the Government’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat," the Indian Navy said.

The ship is named after an island Anjadip, which is located off the coast of Karwar that signifies the maritime importance accorded to the island.

Anjadip was launched by Priya Pandit, the wife of Vice Admiral R B Pandit, Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Force Command (SFC), according to Naval traditions, by chanting invocations from Atharva Veda.

The ship is constructed by the Larsen & Toubro's (L&T) Kattupalli shipyard under a sub-contract where GRSE will build four and L&T will build the remaining four crafts.

The Arnala-class ships are suitable for anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, low-intensity maritime operations and mine laying operations in littoral waters of the Indian coastline.

The ship has length of 77 metre, a displacement of 900 tons and is capable of traveling up to a distance of 1,800 nautical miles at a maximum speed of 25 knots.

"The first ship of the project is planned to be delivered to Indian Navy by 23 December," the statement added.

Each ship of Arnala-class will have a indigenous content of over 80 per cent and will be a shining example of Atmanirbharta in defence.