Indigenously built INS Arnala touches the waters of Bay of Bengal

The Arnala-class is designed to undertake anti-submarine operations in coastal waters and low-intensity maritime operations, including subsurface surveillance in littoral waters

Indian Navy Ship (INS) Arnala, the first of 16 anti-submarine warfare shallow water craft (ASW-SWC) being built in India for the Indian Navy, was launched on Tuesday at Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T’s) Kattupalli shipyard near Chennai. 

Of the 16 ASW-SWC on order, eight are being built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Kolkata, in partnership with L&T; and the other eight by Cochin Shipyard. The Navy plans to have all 16 corvettes built and in service by 2026.

Industry sources say the cost of all 16 corvettes will be Rs 12,622 crore, or $ 1.6 billion. In 2022 exchange