Guys,I am still recovering.
I have attended every commissioning in Mumbai since January 2001 (INS Mumbai) and I must say this is the most sophisticated and well-built ship that has ever flown the Indian Ensign.
Fabrication is top-notch;fit and finish are like a super cruiseliner.
Habitablity,work spaces,living spaces are generous.
You have to realise this was a concept;nopbody knew what will they end up with.And what has happened is beyond anyone's expectations.
The main gun had its first firign on its very first sortie!!
The whole ship is always under an NBCD envelope.It does not have to be 'activated'
Why is it a frigate?i think the IN classifies its ships by dimensions and in this case also by the fact that she is not as heavily equipped as the 15As.
It is the most nework centric ship that we have. She cane mbark a fleet staff and serve as a flagship if required. The bridge,machinery control etc are all built with multiple redundancies.
She has completed all pre-commissioning checks ,workups with ease. She is a frontline fighting unit as of yesterday ready to sail at 4 hours notice anywhere int he world.
She can stay out longer than any other ship we have . We are devloping our own prorietory datalinks for these ships.
The CO gave a hypothetical scenario where ships at different locations can transfer sensor data to the Shivalik and the ship can respond as required. They will plug in with the Phalcons too eventually.
The fiber-optics,the various software make it a class apart.
The CO ,Capt M D Suresh ,has previously been the commissioning XO of the INS Talwar.
This ship is more lethal and stealthier than that class of ships.
Also the crew complement of the 6200 tonne Shivalik is the same as that of the 4000 tonne Talwar.
They have an interesting logo which shows an open spiral superimposed on a diamond.The diamond signifies the RCS of the ship and the spiral signifies infinity which is also their motto of 'No limits'
This ship is the template for all other indigeneous programmes such as the P15B,P17 follow on,the P28 etc and that is why they spent more time validating and ensuring everything works pre-commissioning. She is the most complete ship that has been commissioned ie she doesnt have to do any major trials etc now.
She will test fire certain weapon systems now ,because there are certain things you can do only if you fly the flag of a country and not a dockyard.
Similarly,her helo phase workup will also commmence now.
The only pending work-up now is the FOST workup (Flag Officer Sea Training).This is going to be a demanding workup because here both the men and systems will be tested in various situations.
The startlingly young crew are rather looking forward to it.