On June 13, 2023, two warships INS ‘Anjadip’, the 3rd of eight ships of indigenously built Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC), and INS ‘Sanshodhak’, the 4th and last in the series of Survey Vessels (Large) (SVL) Project, being built by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) for Indian Navy, was launched at M/s L&T, Kattupalli.
The ship has been named Anjadip to signify the strategic maritime importance accorded to the island of Anjadip, located off Karwar. The island is connected to the mainland by a breakwater and is part of INS Kadamba.
Besides, the keel for the 7th ASW SWC ship was also laid.
To be noted that the contract for building eight ASW SWC ships was signed between MoD and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata on 29 Apr 2019.
As per the build strategy, four ships are being built at GRSE, Kolkata and construction of balance four ships has been sub-contracted to M/s L and T Shipbuilding, Kattupalli.
Arnala class of ships will replace the in-service Abhay class ASW Corvettes of Indian Navy and are designed to undertake anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, Low Intensity Maritime Operations (LIMO), and Mine Laying operations including subsurface surveillance in littoral waters.
The 77 m long ASW SWC ships have a displacement of 900 tons with a maximum speed of 25 knots and endurance of 1800 NM.
The first ship of the project is planned to be delivered to Indian Navy by Dec 2023. The ASW SWC ships will have over 80% indigenous content, thereby ensuring that large scale defence production is executed by Indian manufacturing units, generating employment and capability enhancement within the country.
Source: https://www.indiannavy.nic.in
