The Nilgiri-class (Project 17A) are stealth guided-missile frigates being built for the Indian Navy as a follow-on to the Shivalik-class (Project 17), incorporating further stealth refinement, higher indigenous content, and modular construction techniques. Seven ships are on order, split between Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (four ships) and Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (three ships), with the class named lead ship INS Nilgiri commissioning in January 2025.[1]
Project 17A was built using an Integrated Modular Construction approach, in which large hull and superstructure blocks are fabricated in parallel — including at outfitting yards away from the primary shipyard — and then joined together, a method intended to compress build time relative to traditional sequential construction. More than 200 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across India contributed components and sub-systems to the programme, reflecting a deliberate strategy to widen the domestic industrial base supporting warship construction.[2]
The class has been commissioned at an unusually rapid pace for Indian naval shipbuilding: INS Nilgiri entered service in January 2025, followed by INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri in August 2025, INS Dunagiri in late 2025, INS Taragiri in April 2026, and INS Mahendragiri in July 2026 — six of the seven planned ships commissioned within about eighteen months, a pace without precedent in Indian naval history. The seventh and final ship, INS Vindhyagiri, remains in fitting-out and is expected to join the fleet by the end of 2026.[3]
Project 17A represents a marked stealth improvement over the preceding Shivalik-class, using a flush-deck layout with a uniform, continuous hull line from bow to stern to minimise radar cross-section, along with extensive use of composite materials, radar-absorbent coatings, and low-observable design principles throughout the topside structure.[4] Infrared and acoustic signature reduction measures are also incorporated, consistent with the class’s role as a survivable multi-mission escort in contested waters.
The Nilgiri-class measures approximately 149 metres in length with a beam of 17.8 metres and a draft of around 5.22 metres, displacing roughly 6,670 tonnes at full load — noticeably larger than the Shivalik-class it replaces — and carries a crew of approximately 226 personnel.[4]
The class is armed with an eight-cell BrahMos supersonic anti-ship/land-attack cruise missile system for offensive strike, and four eight-cell vertical launch modules carrying up to 32 Barak-8ER (extended-range) long-range surface-to-air missiles for area air defence, split between bow and stern launcher groups.[5] The ships also carry torpedo tubes, anti-submarine rocket launchers, and a main gun for surface and close-in air engagements, alongside facilities to embark helicopters for extended-range surveillance and anti-submarine warfare.
Nilgiri-class frigates are fitted with modern multi-function radars for air and surface search, sonar suites for underwater detection, and the indigenous Shakti electronic warfare suite for radar warning, jamming, and self-protection against anti-ship missile threats.[5]
Project 17A embodies India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliance) push in shipbuilding, with over 75 percent indigenous content by value — a significant increase over earlier frigate and destroyer classes — achieved through domestic sourcing of hull steel, weapons integration, sensors, and propulsion components wherever feasible.[2]
Project 17A retains the general multi-mission frigate role of the Shivalik-class but improves on it across nearly every dimension: greater displacement and internal volume, more advanced stealth shaping, higher indigenous content, and a more automated combat management system, reflecting roughly fifteen years of design maturation between the two classes’ construction programmes.[4]
As they enter service, Nilgiri-class frigates are being distributed across the Eastern and Western fleets to serve as multi-mission escorts capable of anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine warfare, as well as independent patrol and power-projection tasking in the Indian Ocean Region. Their rapid, near-simultaneous commissioning is intended to meaningfully expand the Navy’s frontline frigate strength through the second half of the 2020s.[3]
The pace of Project 17A deliveries has been highlighted by naval planners as evidence that India’s shipbuilding industry — after decades of delays on earlier destroyer and frigate classes — is now capable of executing large multi-ship programmes to a disciplined schedule, an important precedent for future classes including Project 17B and the Navy’s next-generation destroyer plans.[3]
| Type | Stealth Guided-Missile Frigate |
| Displacement | ~6,670 tonnes (full load) |
| Length | 149 m |
| Beam | 17.8 m |
| Crew | ~226 |
| Strike Armament | 8-cell BrahMos |
| Air Defence | 32 × Barak-8ER (VLS) |
| Indigenous Content | 75%+ by value |
| Ships (7 planned) | Nilgiri, Udaygiri, Himgiri, Taragiri, Mahendragiri, Dunagiri, Vindhyagiri |
| Builders | Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd / Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers |