Indian Navy Opens Competition for Seven Project 17B Stealth Frigates in ₹70,000-Crore Warship Programme

The Indian Navy has reportedly moved ahead with one of India’s largest indigenous surface-warship procurement programmes, issuing a Request for Proposal for the construction of seven advanced stealth frigates under Project 17B.

The programme, estimated at around ₹70,000 crore, represents the next stage in the Navy’s indigenous frigate development programme and will follow the seven Project 17A Nilgiri-class stealth frigates currently entering service.

Significantly, Project 17B is being taken forward through competitive bidding rather than simply allocating the ships to designated shipyards. This could make the programme an important test of India’s expanding domestic naval shipbuilding capacity while creating competition among shipyards capable of constructing sophisticated frontline surface combatants.

RFP Issued for Seven New Frigates

Reports on September 16 said that the Indian Navy had issued the Request for Proposal for seven Project 17B frigates to eligible Category A shipyards.

The estimated ₹70,000-crore figure represents the anticipated value of the overall programme rather than a contract already awarded. The eventual contract value will therefore depend on the bidding, technical evaluation, negotiations and subsequent procurement process.

The development marks an important transition for the programme because an RFP takes the acquisition beyond the initial approval and planning stages and begins the process through which competing shipyards can submit their technical and commercial proposals.

Project 17B is intended to succeed Project 17A, which itself represented a substantial advancement over the earlier Project 17 Shivalik-class frigates.

Building on the Project 17A Programme

The technological foundation for India’s next generation of frigates is being established through the seven-ship Project 17A programme.

The Ministry of Defence describes Project 17A vessels as indigenous advanced stealth frigates designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau. Four of the seven ships are being constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited in Mumbai and three by Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers in Kolkata.

The ships represent a generational improvement in indigenous naval design, incorporating advances in stealth, survivability, automation, weapons, sensors and overall combat capability.

Project 17A frigates use Combined Diesel or Gas propulsion and an Integrated Platform Management System. Their combat suite includes BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles, MF-STAR multifunction radar, the Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile system, a 76-mm Super Rapid Gun Mount and weapons for anti-submarine warfare.

The experience accumulated through designing and constructing these ships provides India with an increasingly mature industrial and technological base from which the more advanced Project 17B frigates can emerge.

India Has Already Built a Strong Indigenous Frigate Ecosystem

Project 17A has also demonstrated the growing depth of India’s naval manufacturing supply chain.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the ships have approximately 75 per cent indigenous content. The programme has involved more than 200 MSMEs and generated employment for approximately 4,000 personnel directly and more than 10,000 people indirectly.

This industrial ecosystem is particularly important for Project 17B because modern warships are not produced by a shipyard alone. Their construction requires extensive networks of companies supplying propulsion components, radars, electronic warfare equipment, communications systems, weapons, structural components, electrical systems and specialised naval machinery.

The Project 17B programme therefore has the potential to generate industrial activity considerably beyond whichever shipyard or shipyards ultimately receive the construction contract.

Competitive Bidding Marks an Important Change

One of the most notable aspects of Project 17B is the reported decision to use competitive bidding for the programme.

Earlier major surface combatant programmes, including Project 15A, Project 15B and Project 17A, were largely distributed through the nomination route among designated defence shipyards.

Under the competitive approach reported for Project 17B, eligible shipyards will instead compete for the programme on the basis of the procurement requirements laid down by the Navy.

Reports indicate that Category A shipyards associated with the competition could include Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers, Goa Shipyard Limited and Cochin Shipyard Limited. The final selection and allocation of construction work, however, should be treated as undecided until the procurement process is completed and formally announced.

Competition could potentially encourage shipyards to improve construction schedules, production efficiency and cost control while simultaneously expanding India’s overall capacity to build sophisticated naval combatants.

Project 17A Fleet Rapidly Taking Shape

The timing of Project 17B is also significant because the preceding Project 17A programme is approaching maturity.

INS Nilgiri, the lead ship of Project 17A, was commissioned in January 2025. INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri followed in August 2025, while INS Taragiri entered service in April 2026 and INS Dunagiri followed subsequently.

INS Mahendragiri became the sixth Project 17A frigate to enter service when it was commissioned at Visakhapatnam on July 11, 2026.

The Ministry of Defence said Mahendragiri was capable of undertaking the full spectrum of maritime operations, including fleet air defence, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, maritime interdiction and surveillance.

The rapid induction of these vessels means the Navy is developing an increasingly standardised family of modern indigenous frigates while simultaneously preparing for the next generation.

A Larger Indigenous Naval Shipbuilding Strategy

Project 17B also fits into India’s broader shift towards domestic construction of major naval platforms.

The Ministry of Defence has increasingly emphasised indigenous design and construction across destroyers, frigates, aircraft carriers, survey vessels and numerous auxiliary and specialised ships.

India’s experience has progressively moved from licence construction and imported designs towards indigenous warship design through the Navy’s Warship Design Bureau, supported by Indian shipyards and an expanding network of domestic defence manufacturers.

Project 17B could represent another step in this progression. Rather than merely replacing older frigates, the programme could allow the Navy to incorporate lessons from the Shivalik and Nilgiri classes into a more advanced generation of indigenous surface combatants.

The exact displacement, propulsion arrangement, weapons configuration, radar suite and missile load of Project 17B have not yet been publicly detailed by the Ministry of Defence. Claims concerning the final configuration of the ships should therefore be treated cautiously until official specifications emerge.

Seven Ships Could Significantly Expand India’s Modern Frigate Fleet

Seven additional frigates would represent a substantial addition to the Indian Navy’s principal surface combatant fleet.

Frigates perform a wide spectrum of missions ranging from anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare to fleet air defence, maritime surveillance, escort operations and protection of carrier battle groups and other high-value naval units.

They are particularly important for a navy operating across the Indian Ocean because they combine substantial weapons and sensor capability with the endurance required for extended deployments.

The seven Project 17B ships would ultimately operate alongside the Project 17A Nilgiri-class frigates, Project 17 Shivalik-class frigates, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam-class destroyers and other major surface combatants forming the core of India’s blue-water fleet.

From Project 17 to Project 17B

The evolution from the Shivalik-class Project 17 frigates through Project 17A and eventually Project 17B illustrates the progressive development of India’s indigenous warship-design capability.

Project 17 introduced an important generation of Indian-built stealth frigates. Project 17A expanded the concept with substantially greater automation, stealth, survivability and indigenous content.

Project 17B is now positioned to carry that evolution forward.

For the Indian Navy, the programme promises another generation of advanced surface combatants. For India’s shipbuilding industry, it represents an opportunity to demonstrate that multiple domestic yards can compete for and execute increasingly sophisticated frontline warship programmes.

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References

Press Information Bureau — Ministry of Defence — DAC approves 10 capital acquisition proposals worth Rs 1.45 lakh crore, 3 September 2024
https://www.pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=2051323&lang=2&reg=48

Press Information Bureau — Ministry of Defence — Delivery of Project 17A Indigenous Advanced Stealth Frigate Mahendragiri, 1 May 2026
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2257237&lang=1&reg=3

Press Information Bureau — Ministry of Defence — Indian Navy commissions Made-in-India advanced stealth frigate INS Mahendragiri, 11 July 2026
https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/erelcontent.aspx?lang=2&reg=48&relid=291115

Press Information Bureau — Ministry of Defence — Indigenous Stealth Frigate Dunagiri Delivered to Indian Navy, 31 March 2026
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2247142&lang=1&reg=6

Press Information Bureau — Surface Fleet and Shipbuilding
https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2025/dec/doc2025123716101.pdf

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