INS Sahyadri (F49)

INS Sahyadri (F49) is a Shivalik class stealth multi-role frigate built for the Indian Navy. She was built at the Mazagon Dock Limited(MDL) located in Mumbai. Construction of the vessel began in 2003 and was completed by 2011. She underwent sea trials from thereon before being commissioned on 21 July 2012 into the Eastern Naval Command headquartered at Vishakapatnam.

INS Sahyadri features improved stealth and land attack capabilties over the preceding Talwar-class frigates.

Design and description
The Indian Navy conceived Project 17 for design of stealthy frigates to be designed and built in India. The Directorate of Naval Design (DND)'s design of the Shivalik class called for a "5000 ton stealth frigates (Project 17) incorporating advanced signature suppression and signature management features". The first three units were formally ordered by the Indian Navy in early 1999.

General characteristics and propulsion
INS Sahyadri has a length of 142.5 m overall, a beam of 16.9 m and a draft of 4.5 m. The ships displaces about 4900 t at normal load and 6200 t at full load. The complement is about 257, including 35 officers.

The ship uses 2 Pielstick 16 PA6 STC Diesel engines and 2 GE LM2500+ boost turbines in CODOG configuration providing a total of 47370 shp of power. This allows the ship to reach a maximum speed of 32 kn.

Electronics and sensors
INS Sahyadri is equipped with a wide range of electronics and sensors. These include In addition, it uses HUMSA (hull-mounted sonar array), ATAS/Thales Sintra towed array systems and the BEL Ajanta Electronic Warfare suite.
 * 1 × MR-760 Fregat M2EM 3-D radar
 * 4 × MR-90 Orekh radars
 * 1 × Elta EL/M-2238 STAR
 * 2 × Elta EL/M-2221 STGR
 * 1 ×BEL APARNA

Armament
INS Sahyadri is equipped with a mix of Russian, Indian and Western weapon systems. These include the 3.0-inch Otobreda naval gun, Klub and BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missiles, Shtil-1 anti-aircraft missiles, RBU-6000 anti-submarine rocket launchers and DTA-53-956 torpedo launchers. A 16 cell VLS launched Barak SAM and AK-630 act as Close-in weapon systems(CIWS). The ship also carries two HAL Dhruv or Sea King Mk. 42B helicopters.

Construction and service
The keel of INS Sahyadri was laid in September 2003. She was formally launched in May 2005 and commissioned in July 2012 after undergoing sea-trials in 2011.

In October 2013, Sahyadri participated in the International Fleet Review 2013 in Sydney, Australia, as part of a growing defense cooperation between the two countries.