Two indigenously built frontline warships of Indian Navy, a next generation stealth destroyer and a stealth frigate will be launched at Mazgaon Docks in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will be the chief guest for the function to launch "Surat", a Project 15B destroyer and "Udaygiri", a Project 17A Frigate, said the Navy.

Surat, the next generation stealth guided missile destroyer of the Navy, is the fourth 7400-tonne ship of Project 15B which heralds a significant makeover of the P15A (Kolkata Class) destroyers.

Warship Surat was built using the block construction methodology which involved hull construction at two different geographical locations and both the parts were joined together at Mazgaon Dock Limited (MDL).

The first ship of this class was commissioned in 2021, while the second and third have been launched and are at different stages of outfitting and trials, the Indian Navy said.

It's named after the Gujarat's commercial capital since, said Navy in a statement. Surat city has a rich maritime and ship building history. Vessels built at the city in the 16th and 18th centuries, remarked the Navy, were known for their longevity, of more than 100 years.

Warship Udaygiri, named after a Andhra Pradesh mountain range, is the third ship of Project 17A frigates. Under this program, a total of seven ships, with four at MDL and three at Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE) are under various stages of construction.

According to the Navy, several novel concepts and technologies like integrated construction, mega block outsourcing, project data management, project lifecycle management (PDM/PLM), etc. have been adopted for the first time in indigenous warship design and construction in this project.

Udaygiri is a follow on of the P17 frigates (Shivalik Class) with improved stealth features, advanced weapons and sensors and platform management systems.

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