India will commission stealth frigate Taragiri and nuclear submarine Aridhaman today. Both of these are indigenous platforms.
India will on Friday commission stealth frigate Taragiri and nuclear submarine Aridhaman. Both of these indigenous platforms.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will preside over the ceremony in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, where the Indian Navy’s Eastern Command is headquartered.
Rajnath hinted in a post on X at the commissioning Aridhaman: “It’s not a word, it’s power: Aridhaman.”
In India, the nuclear submarine programme is so secretive that platforms are rarely ever named and photographs are barely ever released. Observers have taken Rajnath’s post as a confirmation of the commissioning. The government is unlikely to issue a press release of the commissioning or any photo today — or ever.
शब्द नहीं शक्ति है, ‘अरिदमन’!
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) April 3, 2026
Indian Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi had said in December that Aridhaman was in the final stages of trials and would be commissioned soon. Aridhaman is the third Arihant-class submarine to be commissioned after INS Arihant (2016) and INS Arighat (2024). The work is underway on fourth and fifth submarines.
India is only the sixth country after the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, France, and China to have such nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed submarines.
Taragiri, on the other hand, will be commissioned in a proper ceremony in the presence of senior naval officers and other dignitaries.
“I shall be in Visakhapatnam to commission the advanced stealth frigate Taragiri…This commissioning highlights the strategic and maritime importance of India’s eastern seaboard,” Singh said in a post on X on Thursday.
Targari, the fourth platform under Project 17A, is a 6,670-tonne warship built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Mumbai.
The Indian Navy has previously said that it has an indigenous content of 75 per cent and involved nearly 200 medium, small, and micro enterprises (MSMEs).
Taragiri is powered by a Combined Diesel or Gas (CODOG) propulsion system, which offers high-speed and high-endurance capabilities for various operations. It features a sleeker structure with a significantly reduced radar cross-section that enabling stealth operations and enhanced survivability in complex seas.
Once commissioned, Taragiri is expected to carry supersonic surface-to-surface missiles, medium-range surface-to-air missiles, and a specialised anti-submarine warfare suite. These systems are integrated through a modern combat management system.
As part of India’s commitment to be the net security provider as well as the first responder in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), Taragiri will also be expected to carry out humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations in both peace and conflict scenarios.
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