INS Mahendragiri Commissioning Ceremony: INS Mahendragiri joins the Indian Navy, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh commissions it, know its features

New Delhi. Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh today dedicated INS Mahendragiri to the Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. 75 percent of the equipment used in the construction of INS Mahendragiri is indigenous. It is named after the mountain range of the Eastern Ghats. It is the sixth stealth frigate built under Project 17A. INS Mahendragiri is equipped with all the state-of-the-art facilities due to which it is capable of facing threats from air, sea and even underwater. BrahMos missile can also be deployed on INS Mahendragiri.

VIDEO | Visakhapatnam: Defense Minister Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) arrives to commission Mahendragiri, the sixth Project 17A indigenous stealth frigate, into the Indian Navy’s Eastern Fleet, marking another milestone in India’s journey towards defense self-reliance and… pic.twitter.com/5j35ks19kt

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 11, 2026

INS Mahendragiri is a huge ship weighing approximately 6,670 tonnes, which can move at a speed of up to 28 knots. It is a multi mission frigate. It has indigenous rocket launchers, torpedo launchers, an integrated anti-submarine defense system, electronic warfare suite and close-in weapon system. It has a combination of long-range surface-to-air missiles with multifunction radar, which can detect and destroy any threat coming from the sky from a distance.

INS Mahendragiri will further strengthen India’s maritime strategy: Rajnath Singh

The Defense Minister said that INS Mahendragiri will further strengthen India’s maritime strategy. It will enhance the power of our eastern seaboard, expand our maritime reach and further strengthen India’s presence in the Indian Ocean region. Whenever we build an indigenous warship, it does not just create a new fighting platform. Along with that, our design expertise becomes more mature. Our technological base becomes stronger and a skilled workforce is created to build the next generation of more modern warships.

#WATCH | Andhra Pradesh | Defense Minister Rajnath Singh attends the commissioning ceremony of INS Mahendragiri at Visakhapatnam Naval Dockyard. pic.twitter.com/RHZHx6Pc0I

— ANI (@ANI) July 11, 2026

Rajnath Singh said, construction of any warship is not just construction of a ship, a complete industrial ecosystem is created along with it. The shipbuilding industry also brings with it steel, electronics, sensors, propulsion systems, software, precision engineering, logistics and many supporting industries. This creates employment opportunities for millions of people, develops new technologies and also gives a new impetus to our economy. So when we build a ship, we not only strengthen our navy but also provide new energy to India’s economic power.