GRSE Lays Keel For Shallow Water ASW Coervettes
GRSE Kolkata has begun construction of the second and third ships of the eight anti-submarine warfare shallow water Corvette project. The compact and complex stealth crafts are designed by GRSE, and these platforms will be packed with state-of-the-art weapons and sensors like hull-mounted sonar, towed sonar, torpedoes and rocket launchers to interdict and destroy sub-surface targets in coastal waters.
Cochin Shipyard too had started the construction of yet another eight Anti Submarine Warfare SHALLOW Water Corvettes. So in a few years the Navy should be having all 16 of these Corvettes patrolling the Western Seaboard.
Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE), Kolkata, has also laid the keel of a fast patrol vessel (FPV) for the Indian Coast Guard. The FPV is being constructed for ICG as a replacement for the recently exported FPV ‘SCG PS Zoroaster’ which was handed over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the government of Seychelles.
The FPVs are medium-range surface vessels proficient at operating in the maritime zones of India. These powerful, fuel-efficient platforms are designed to perform multipurpose operations like patrolling, anti-smuggling, anti-poaching, and rescue operations.
The vessels are designed for a maximum speed of 34 knots with an endurance of more than 1,500 nautical miles. It will be built with advanced control systems, water jet units and an integrated bridge system for all communication and navigation structures.
The ship is also fitted with a 40/60 gun as the main armament and can accommodate 35 personnel. The entire design of these FPVs has been developed In-House by GRSE as per requirements specified by the ICG.
The ships are capable of ‘search and rescue’ and ‘low-intensity maritime operations’ and are propelled by water jets capable of highspeed movement.
The keel-laying ceremony was held in the presence of Rear Admiral VK Saxena, IN (Retd.), chairman and managing director, GRSE, and IG Maneesh V Pathak, TM, commander, Coast Guard Region (N-E) among other officials.
