Godavari Class Frigate - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Godavari class frigates (formerly, Type 16 or Project 16 frigates) are guided-missile frigates of the Indian Navy

Indian Navy

The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the Navy...

. The Godavari class was the first significant indigenous warship design and development initiative of the Indian Navy. Its design is a modification of the Nilgiri class frigate with a focus on indigenous content of 72%, a larger hull and updated armaments.

The class and the lead ship, INS Godavari

INS Godavari (F20)

INS Godavari is the lead ship of her class of guided-missile frigates of the Indian Navy. Built by Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai, she was commissioned on 10 December 1983.-Operation Cactus:...

are named after the Godavari River

Godavari River

The Godavari is a river that runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India. With a length of 1465 km, it is the second longest river in India , that runs within the country and also the longest river in South India...

. Three ships of this class currently serve in the Indian Navy

Indian Navy

. Subsequent ships in the class, INS Ganga

INS Ganga (F22)

INS Ganga is a Godavari-class guided-missile frigate of the Indian Navy. Built in Mumbai by Mazagon Dock Limited, she was commissioned on 30 December 1985.-UNOSOM II:...

and INS Gomati

INS Gomati (F21)

INS Gomati is a Godavari-class guided-missile frigate of Indian Navy.Ship badge=It was suggested that some of the ship's components were substandard and that there were errors in the procurement process.-References:...

also take their names from Indian rivers.

INS Gomati was the first Indian Navy

Indian Navy

vessel to have digital electronics in her combat data system. The ships combine Indian, Russian and Western weapons systems.

History

The concept for the Godavari class originated from the lessons learnt in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. There was a need for a ship unique to Indian requirements, for deploying a hybrid of indigenously-designed, as well as Russian and European weapons systems.

One of the requirements was to deploy two Sea King

Westland Sea King

The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines , British made anti-submarine warfare systems and a...

helicopters from the ship. The Nilgiri class vessels were too small for this. So the final design incorporated a larger hull.

Design

Although the Directorate of Marine Engineering suggested replacing steam propulsion with gas turbines, it was decided not to do so, since Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited based in Bangalore, India, is one of Asia's largest aerospace companies. Under the management of the Indian Ministry of Defence, this state-owned company is mainly involved in aerospace industry, which includes manufacturing and assembling aircraft, navigation and...

had made heavy investments in facilities and tooling for design of steam turbines and auxiliary systems.

For armaments, the missile and gun package of the Soviet Nanuchka class corvette

Nanuchka class corvette

The Nanuchka class was the NATO reporting name for a series of corvettes or small missile ships built for the Soviet Navy and export customers between 1969 and 1981. The Soviet designation was Project 1234 Ovod Small Missile Ship. These ships were designed around the P-120 Malakhit anti ship...

was to be installed on the frigate.

The keel of the lead ship INS Godavari

INS Godavari (F20)

INS Godavari is the lead ship of her class of guided-missile frigates of the Indian Navy. Built by Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai, she was commissioned on 10 December 1983.-Operation Cactus:...

was laid in 1977 at Mazagon Dock Limited in Bombay. She was commissioned in December 1983.

Ships of the class

Name	Pennant	Builder	Commissioned	Status
INS Godavari INS Godavari (F20) INS Godavari is the lead ship of her class of guided-missile frigates of the Indian Navy. Built by Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai, she was commissioned on 10 December 1983.-Operation Cactus:...	F20	Mazagon Dock Ltd.	10 December 1983	Active
INS Ganga INS Ganga (F22) INS Ganga is a Godavari-class guided-missile frigate of the Indian Navy. Built in Mumbai by Mazagon Dock Limited, she was commissioned on 30 December 1985.-UNOSOM II:...	F22	Mazagon Dock Ltd.	30 December 1985	Active
INS Gomati INS Gomati (F21) INS Gomati is a Godavari-class guided-missile frigate of Indian Navy.Ship badge=It was suggested that some of the ship's components were substandard and that there were errors in the procurement process.-References:...	F21	Mazagon Dock Ltd.	16 April 1988	Active

Upgrades

All three ships have now undergone an extensive upgrade of weapons and sensors. These include the fitment of the Israeli Barak SAM system, and a new fire control system based on the EL/M-2221 STGR. The P-20 missiles have been retained for now.

Gallery

Image:INS Godavari (F20)+INS Brahmaputra (F31)+INS Beas (F39).jpg|INS Godavari with INS Brahmaputra (F31) and INS Beas (F37)

INS Beas (F37)

INS Beas is a of the Indian Navy. She was built at the Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers , Kolkatta.The design and construction of the ship is entirely Indian, and is a modification of the...

trailing during exercises with the US Navy.
Image:INS Ganga.jpg|INS Ganga

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