India’s defence entity, Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) launched two warships of different classes together on 13 June.
Alongside, the keel of a third vessel was also laid.
Two warships — INS Anjadip, the 3rd Anti-Submarine Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC) and the 4th Survey Vessel Large (SVL) were launched by the Indian navy.
The Keel for the 7th ASWSWC being built by GRSE was also laid during the day in the presence of Vice Admiral R B Pandit, Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command.
In total, GRSE is now building eight ASWSWCs and four SVLs for the Indian Navy and the Ships are at various stages of completion.
In the series, INS Anjadip was the third vessel of this series to be launched and INS Sanshodhak is the fourth and last in the series of SVLs being built by GRSE.
INS Anjadip is named after an island close to India’s Western coast that is now part of the Indian Naval base INS Kadamba. In fact, Anjadip offered strong resistance in 1961, when India took back Goa from the Portuguese.
This ship is also the reincarnation of a Soviet-era ASW Ship of the Indian Navy which was decommissioned in Dec 2003.
Such ships offer multiple advantages for example, ASWSWCs require less draft and can operate close to the coast.
Such ships provide capabilities against underwater threats and neutralize enemy assets such as midget submarines and mines.
Equipped with advanced sonar and armed with the latest weaponry, such as lightweight torpedoes and ASW rockets, these warships will pack a tremendous punch, once they become operational.
The SLV – Sanshodhak– in Hindi stands for “discoverer or investigator”.
The SVL will carry out hydrographic surveys to chart the ocean floor and provide valuable information on our seas and oceans for defence purposes.
According to the official from GRSE, all the ships built by GRSE now have nearly 90% indigenous content.
As Vice Admiral R B Pandit pointed out, “I note with a sense of pride that GRSE, over the last six decades has grown in capability delivering over 100 warships to the nation. These range from Fast Patrol Vessels to Landing crafts, Survey Vessels, Corvettes, Frigates and Fleet Tankers, reflecting a very high degree of competence and capability nurtured by the Yard over the years.”
“I further congratulate GRSE & L&T Shipbuilding for a successful partnership. The collaboration between the two is a befitting example of a Public-Private partnership which is a desired framework for the indigenous warship construction capabilities. This successful model will be closely watched and I am sure it would set the path for similar future collaborations in warship construction in our country. Given the positive spirit and enthusiasm, I see today in the entire warship-building ecosystem in our country, I am confident that this will grow from strength to strength and contribute to the economic well-being of our nation way beyond its fair share, he said.
On the launch, Cmde P R Hari also outlined that the ASW Shallow watercraft project has 8 ships, and the Survey Vessel Large Project-04 ships.
“We launched the first SVL in 2021 and thereafter we have been launching a ship every six months with the last ship being launched today. As far as the ASW Shallow watercraft project is concerned, we are churning out a ship every 3 months and we intend to maintain this tempo,” Cmde said.