INS ARNALA, the first warship in the anti-submarine warfare shallow watercraft series equipped to conduct subsurface surveillance, search and rescue missions and low-intensity maritime operations, was inducted into the Indian Navy on Wednesday. The commissioning ceremony at the Naval Dockyard here was presided over by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan. In his address, Gen Chauhan underscored the Navy’s remarkable transition from a “buyer’s navy” to a “builder’s navy”, highlighting this as the backbone of the “country’s Blue Water aspirations”, according to officials.

 

The 77-metre long warship, with a gross tonnage of over 1490 tonnes, is the largest Indian naval warship to be propelled by a diesel enginewaterjet combination, the Navy said. The ceremony was hosted by Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command Vice Admiral Rajesh Pendharkar and attended by senior naval officials, distinguished civilian dignitaries, ex- Commanding Officers of erstwhile ‘Arnala’, besides representatives from Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) and Larsen & Toubro Shipbuilding, it said.

 

“The warship incorporates more than 80 per cent indigenous content and integrates advanced systems from leading Indian defence firms, including Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), L&T, Mahindra Defence, and MEIL,” a Navy spokesperson earlier said. The event marked the formal induction of the first of the 16 antisubmarine warfare shallow watercraft (ASW-SWC) class ships into the Indian Navy. Named after the historic Arnala Fort off Vasai in Maharashtra, the warship reflects India’s rich maritime heritage. Constructed in 1737 by the Marathas under the leadership of Chimaji Appa, the fort was strategically positioned to oversee the Vaitarna River’s mouth, serving as a sentinel over the northern Konkan coast, the Navy said.