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INS Surat
 11
Surat was launched on 17 May 2022 by Mazagon Dock Limited. The ship is expected to
be commissioned by 2025.
 Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh
launched the ship. Defence Minister
Rajnath Singh launched two different
types of surface ships.
 The ship 'Surat' is the fourth and last of
the stealth destroyers under the
'Project 15B' programme.
 Surat will be among the largest
destroyers made in the country and
has an overall length of 163 metre and
displacement of over 7,400 tonne.
Udaygiri will be around 142 metre with
a displacement of 6,200 tonne.
 The Project 15B class of ships are the
next generation stealth guided missile
destroyers of the Indian Navy being
built at the Mazgaon Docks Ltd,
Mumbai.
 ‘Surat’ is the fourth ship of Project 15B
Destroyers which heralds a significant
makeover of the P15A (Kolkata Class)
Destroyers and is named after the
commercial capital of the state of
Gujarat and also the second largest
commercial hub of western India after Mumbai.
 Surat city has a rich maritime & ship building history and vessels built at the city in the
16th and 18th centuries were known for their longevity (of more than 100 years).
 The ship Surat has been built using the Block construction methodology which involved
hull construction at two different geographical locations and has been joined together at
MDL, Mumbai.
 The first ship of this class was commissioned in 2021. The second and third ships have
been launched and are at different stages of outfitting/ trials.
 Initially, the ship was speculated to be named after port city Porbandar but later it was
changed to Surat.
 Apart from myriad indigenous equipment in the ‘Float’ and ‘Move’ categories, the
destroyer is also installed with major indigenous weapons which include Medium Range
Surface-to-Air Missiles (Bharat Electronics Limited, Bangalore), BrahMos Surface-to-
Surface Missiles (BrahMos Aerospace), Indigenous Torpedo Tube Launchers (Larsen &

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 17
Toubro), Anti-Submarine Indigenous Rocket Launchers (Larsen & Toubro) and 76mm

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Super Rapid Gun Mount (BHEL).
 The warship has been designed by the Directorate of Naval Design (DND) and built at
MDL. Around 75% of the equipment and systems required for building the ship was
sourced from indigenous firms, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)

Project 15(B)
 The Project 15B class of ships are the next generation stealth guided missile destroyers of
the Indian Navy being built at the
Mazgaon Docks Ltd, Mumbai.
 The contract for the construction
of four ships under Project-15B
was signed in January 2011 at a
project cost of about ₹29,643.74
crore. The final cost of the project
is ₹35,000 crore. The four ships
are christened after major cities
from all four corners of the
country - Visakhapatnam,
Mormugao, Imphal, and Surat.
The remaining ships would be
commissioned one per year from
2022 to 2024.
 Project 15B or Vishakhapatnam
class, was launched to add four
stealth guided-missile destroyers
and was envisaged to incorporate
technological advancements in the
naval ships. The P-15B destroyers
were to incorporate new design
concepts for improved
survivability, sea keeping, stealth
and manoeuvrability.
 Ships of the P-15B programme
will have state-of-the-art weapons
and sensors, including a vertically launched missile system for long-distance engagement
of shore and sea-based targets. These ships will be equipped to carry and operate two
multiple role helicopters. These ships are equipped with BrahMos supersonic cruise
missiles and long-range Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAM).
 The first ship of this class, INS Visakhapatnam, was commissioned in 2021. The other
two—Mormugao and Imphal—have been launched but not commissioned yet. All three,
including Surat, are likely to be commissioned between 2023 and 2025.

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 17

INS Udaygiri
INS Udaygiri was launched on 17 May 2022 by Mazagon Dock Limited by Defence
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Minister Rajnath Singh.
 The ship 'Udaygiri' is named after a mountain range in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is
the third ship of Project 17A frigates. These are follow on of the P17 Frigates (Shivalik
Class) with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform
management systems.
 ‘Udaygiri’ is the reincarnation of erstwhile ‘Udaygiri’, the Leander Class ASW Frigate,
which saw numerous challenging operations in its illustrious service to the country
spanning over three decades from 18 Feb 1976 to 24 Aug 2007.
 Udaygiri is a Nilgiri Class frigate, which are usually faster and more manoeuvrable.

Project 17(A)
 Under the P17A program, a total of seven ships, with four at MDL and three at Kolkata’s
Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), are under construction. Various novel
concepts and technologies like Integrated Construction, Mega Block Outsourcing, Project
Data Management/ Project Lifecycle Management (PDM/PLM) etc have been adopted for
the first time in indigenous Warship Design and Construction in this project.
 It was approved in 2015 with a total Project cost of Rs 45,000cr at that time. These are
follow on of the P17 Frigates (three ships of Shivalik Class) with improved stealth
features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems.
 The programme is a follow-up of Project 17 or Shivalik class which was approved by the
government in the late 1990s to build multi-role stealth frigates, a type of Naval warship
that comes below a destroyer.
 The first two ships of P17A Project, were launched in 2019 and 2020 at MDL and GRSE
respectively.
 Frigates in India are named after mountain ranges.
 A stealth frigate is a type of ship which is especially used as a war vessel and is concealed
from the navy vessels of other countries. It employs stealth technology that makes it
harder for it to be detected by one or more of radar, visual, sonar, and infrared methods.
 The technology for a stealth ship was first developed and used by the German navy. Over
the years almost every country has adopted the technology quite successfully.

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 17
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LHC Prachand- India's first indigenous
light combat helicopter
 The Indian Army formally inducted its first Light Combat Helicopter on September 29. It
was formally inducted on 3rd October 2022.
 The indigenous Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), capable of destroying enemy air
defence, conducting counter insurgency strikes and much more, was formally inducted
into the Indian Air Force (IAF) at the Jodhpur air basE. The fleet of four helicopters was
inducted at a ceremony in presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Air Staff
Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and other senior military officials. The helicopter will be
called ‘Prachand’, which means fierce.
 According to its makers, the LCH is the only attack helicopter in the world which can
land and take off at an altitude of 5,000 meters with a considerable load of weapons and
fuel, meeting the specific requirements laid out by the Indian Armed Forces.
 Genesis
1. It was during the 1999 Kargil war that the need was first felt for a homegrown
lightweight assault helicopter that could hold precision strikes in all Indian battlefield
scenarios. This meant a craft that could operate in very hot deserts and also in very
cold high altitudes, in counter-insurgency scenarios to full-scale battle conditions.
2. India has been operating sub 3 ton category French-origin legacy helicopters, Chetak
and Cheetah, made in India by the HAL. These single engine machines were,
primarily, utility helicopters. Indian forces also operate the Lancer, an armed version
of Cheetah. In addition, the Indian Air Force currently operates the Russian origin Mi-
17 and its variants Mi-17 IV and Mi-17 V5, with maximum take off weight of 13
tonnes, which are to be phased out starting 2028.
3. But the requirement was for a more agile, multi-role dedicated attack helicopter.
After the initial deliberations, the government sanctioned the LCH project in October
2006, and HAL was tasked to develop it. The HAL’s Rotary Wing Research and
Development Centre, which had already worked on the Advanced Light Helicopter
(ALH) Dhruva and its weaponised version ALH Rudra, embarked upon the project.
 Development
1. The LCH has been designed as a twin-engine, dedicated combat helicopter of 5.8-ton
class, thus categorised as light. It features a narrow fuselage and tandem — one
behind the other — configuration for pilot and co-pilot. The copilot is also the
Weapon Systems Operator (WSO). While LCH inherits many features of the ALH, it
mainly differs in tandem cockpit configuration, making it sleeker. It also has many
more state-of-art systems that make it a dedicated attack helicopter.
2. In the LCH’s journey towards clearance and induction by the IAF and the Army,
extensive flight testing has been carried out on four prototypes, also known as
Technology Demonstrators (TDs).

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 17
3. The first Technology Demonstrator was completed in February 2010 and took its

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first flight on March 29 the same year. TD-2 prototype, completed around 2012,
successfully passed the cold weather trials at high altitude. TD-3 and TD-4
prototypes, completed around 2014 and 2015, successfully tested other flight test
requirements.
4. HAL officials said that the flight testing was carried out at various altitudes, from sea
level to the Siachen range, in extreme cold and hot weather conditions, and in desert
regions. During these tests, integration of mission sensors such as electro-optical
system, helmet-mounted display system, solid state data and video recorder, and
weapon systems such as turret gun, rockets and air-to-air missile systems was carried
out. Weapon firing trials were also completed. The four prototypes have together
undergone over 2,000 flights with close to 1600 flight hours.
5. Initial operational clearance came in 2017 for the IAF variant and in 2019 for the Army
variant. In August 2020, the MoD added LCH to the items under import embargo. In
November 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi symbolically handed over the LCH
to the Indian Air Force, paving the way for its final induction.
6. Earlier this year, the Cabinet Committee on Security, headed by PM Modi approved
the procurement of 15 limited series production (LSP) variants at a cost of ₹3,887
crore — 10 for the IAF and five for the Indian Army. The LSP LCH have been built
with 45% indigenous content which will progressively increase to more than 55%.
 Features and Significance
1. LCH has the maximum take-off weight of 5.8 tonnes, maximum speed of 268
kilometers per hour, range of 550 kilometers, endurance of over three hours and
service ceiling — the maximum density altitude to which it can fly — of 6.5
kilometres.
2. The helicopter uses radar-absorbing material to lower radar signature and has a
signifi
cantl
y
crash
-
proof
struc
ture
and
landi
ng
gear.
A
press
urise
d cabin offers protection from nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) contingencies.
3. The helicopter is equipped with a countermeasure dispensing system that protects it
from enemy radars or infrared seekers of the enemy missiles. As far as weapons

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 17
systems are concerned, a 20 mm turret gun, 70 mm rockets and air-to-air missile

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systems are onboard.
4. LCH is powered by two French-origin Shakti engines manufactured by the HAL.
5. With these features, the LCH has the capabilities of combat roles such as destruction
of enemy air defence, counter insurgency warfare, combat search and rescue, anti-
tank, and counter surface force operations.

Practice Questions:
Passage:
In a big boost to Indian naval power, two new frontline warships—a frigate and a
destroyer—will be launched next week.
Naval ship Surat, a destroyer, and Udaygiri, a frigate, will be launched concurrently at
Mumbai-based Mazgaon Docks Limited, in presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on
May 17.
As India looks to counter growing Chinese influence, it focuses also on its naval power. The
Navy has 130 ships and submarines, with 39 more vessels under construction, besides the
two frigates being built for the Navy in Russia.
"The ship Surat has been built using the block construction methodology which involved hull
construction at two different geographical locations and has been joined together at MDL,
Mumbai. The first ship of this class was commissioned in 2021. The second and third ships
have been launched and are at different stages of outfitting/ trials," said a naval official.
The second is the frigate, Udaygiri. The warship is named after a mountain range of [X] and
is the third ship of Project 17A Frigates. These follow up on of the P17 Frigates (Shivalik
Class) with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform
management systems. Naval officials claim that Udaygiri is the reincarnation of erstwhile
‘Udaygiri’, the Leander Class ASW Frigate, which saw numerous challenging operations in its
illustrious service to the country spanning over three decades from February 18, 1976, to
August 24, 2007.
Under the P17A program, a total of seven ships, with four at MDL and three at Kolkata-
based Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) are under construction with an
estimated cost of Rs 45,000 crore.
The Naval official maintained that various novel concepts and technologies like Integrated
Construction, Mega Block Outsourcing, Project Data Management Project Lifecycle
Management (PDM/PLM) have been adopted for the first time in indigenous Warship Design
and Construction in this project.
Apart from vessels under construction, ‘Acceptance of Necessity' has also been accorded by
the ministry of defence for another 43 ships and six Project 75 (India) submarines to be built
in India.
Source: The Week (https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2022/05/14/two-new-warships-to-
boost-india-naval-might.html)
1. INS Surat and INS Udaygiri as been designed by?
A. Directorate of Naval Design
B. MDL

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 C. Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd
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D. None of the above
2. The frigate INS Udaygiri has been named after a mountain range in? (Redacted by X in
the passage)
A. Arunachal Pradesh
B. Kerala
C. Himachal Pradesh
D. Andhra Pradesh
3. Consider the following statements
i. The technology for a stealth ship was first developed and used by the German
navy.
ii. The first two ships of P17A Project, were launched in 2019 and 2020 at MDL and
GRSE respectively.
iii. Surat city has a rich maritime & ship building history and vessels built at the city in
the 16th and 18th centuries were known for their longevity
A. Only ii and iii are true
B. All statements are true
C. Only iii is true
D. Only i and iii are true
4. The contract for the construction of four ships under Project-15B was signed in
which year?
A. 2013
B. 2015
C. 2011
D. 2008
5. The first ship of Project 15(B) which was launched is known as?
A. INS Surat
B. INS Visakhapatnam
C. INS Kolkata
D. INS Imphal
Answers:
1. A
2. D
3. B
4. C
5. B

MCQ’s:

1. The Indian Army has formally inducted its first Light Combat Helicopter. It has been
named as?
A. LCH Aarambh
B. LCH Prachand
C. LCH Dhruv

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 D. LCH Dharm
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2.
A. Indian
B. USA
C. French
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LCH is powered by two _________-origin Shakti engines manufactured by the HAL.

D. Russian
3. LCH has been ordered by-
A. Indian Air Force and the Indian Army
B. Indian Navy and the Indian Army
C. Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy
D. Indian Air Force
4. The LCH Prachand drew extensively on an earlier indigenous helicopter developed
and manufactured by HAL. Which is this helicopter?
A. HAL Cheetah
B. HAL Light Utility Helicopter
C. HAL Rudra
D. HAL Dhruv
5. On 30 March 2022, the Cabinet Committee on Security approved the limited series
production of how many LCHs?
A. 10
B. 13
C. 22
D. 15
Answers:
1. B
2. C
3. A
4. D
5. D

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