Indian Navy’s INS Sahyadri participates in Maritime Partnership Exercise with French Navy

Indian Navy's INS Sahyadri, a guided missile frigate built indigenously, participated in a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with two French Navy ships, FS Dixmude, and FS La Fayette, in the Arabian Sea on March 10-11, 2023.

According to India’s Ministry of Defence, the exercise comprised a variety of maritime evolutions, such as cross-deck landings, boarding drills, and seamanship evolutions. The seamless conduct of the exercise reaffirmed the interoperability and high level of cooperation between the two navies.

INS Sahyadri is a very stealthy and sophisticated guided-missile frigate vessel of the Shivalik class. The battleship was built by Mazagon Dock Ltd in Mumbai and deployed into the sea in 2005. On July 21, 2012, INS Sahyadri and its sister ships, INS Shivalik and INS Satpura, were commissioned into the Indian Navy following more than a year of sea testing in 2011–12.

The 6,800-ton ship is propelled by two Pielstick 16 PA6 STC diesel engines, two General Electric LM 2500 gas turbines, and two shafts that are combined with diesel. It has a length of 468 feet and a width of 55 feet.

The ship is capable of carrying Barak-1 and Shtil-1 3S90M missiles, BrahMos anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine rocket launchers, and more. It can also accommodate two HAL Dhruv helicopters or US Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King helicopters.

INS Sahyadri (F49) is the third and most modern ship in the home-built Shivalik Class of stealth frigates, and it is a part of the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet. The ship's name stems from the breathtaking Sahyadri highlands, which run for 1600 kilometers along India's western coast.