State-of-the-art anti-submarine shallow water craft Amini launched
The Shallow Water Craft will be 77m long with a displacement of 900 tons. She would have a maximum speed of 25 knots and endurance of approx 1800 NM. The ASW SWC ships will have over 80 per cent indigenous content.
FollowTaking massive strides towards indigenous shipbuilding riding Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives, the fourth of eight anti-submarine warfare Shallow Water Craft (SWC) Project named 'Amini' was launched on Thursday at Kattupalli-based L&T facility in Tamil Nadu.
The Shallow Water Craft will be 77m long with a displacement of 900 tons. She would have a maximum speed of 25 knots and endurance of approx 1800 NM. The ASW SWC ships will have over 80 per cent indigenous content.
She will be equipped with lightweight torpedoes, ASW rockets and mines, a close-in weapon system (with a 30 mm gun) and 16.7 mm stabilised remote-controlled guns. She will also be fitted with hull-mounted sonar and a low-frequency variable depth sonar.
Indian Navy’s Chief of Materiel presided over the launching ceremony while his wife Manju Naithani launched the ship to the invocation from Atharva Veda, keeping the maritime tradition.
Why the ship is named Amini
The craft has been named Amini to signify the strategic maritime importance accorded to the island of Amini at Lakshadweep, located about 400 Km west of Kochi.
Anti-submarine warfare SWC
In 2019, the Ministry of Defence and Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) inked a contract for eight ASW SWC ships.
As per the contract, four ships are being built at GRSE, Kolkata while the remaining have been subcontracted to L&T Shipbuilding for hull and part outfitting.
“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, as also Low-Intensity Maritime operations (LIMO) and Mine Laying Operations,” Indian Navy PRO Commander Vivek Madhwal said.
It should be noted that five months back, the third ship of the same class was launched at L&T shipbuilding in Kattupalli. The first ship of the project -- Androth -- is planned to be delivered in early 2024.
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