INS Gomati was the first Indian Navy vessel to have digital electronics in her combat data system. The ships combined Indian, Russian and Western weapons systems.[1]
The concept for the Godavari class originated from the lessons learnt in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. There was a need for a ship unique to Indian requirements, for deploying a hybrid of indigenously-designed, as well as Russian and European weapons systems. The keel of the lead ship INS Godavari was laid in 1978 at Mazagon Dock Limited in Bombay. She was commissioned in December 1983.
One of the requirements was to deploy two Sea King helicopters from the ship. The Nilgiri-class vessels were too small for this requirement. The final design incorporated a larger hull in order to accommodate this.[2] INS Godavari was decommissioned on 23 December 2015, and her Barak 1 surface-to-air missile will be installed on the flagship .[3] [4] INS Ganga was retired from active service on 28 May 2017,[5] and was decommissioned on 22 March 2018.[6] The last ship of its class, INS Gomati, was decommissioned on 15 May 2022 after 34 years of service.
Although the Directorate of Marine Engineering suggested replacing steam propulsion with gas turbines, it was decided not to do so, since Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited had made heavy investments in facilities and tooling for design of steam turbines and auxiliary systems.[2]
For armaments, the missile and gun package of the Soviet was installed on the frigate. Later on, when the frigates underwent their mid-life overhauls, some of the Soviet systems were replaced by Israeli and Italian systems.
| Name | Pennant | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F20 | Mazagon Dock Limited | 3 November 1978[7] | 15 May 1980 | 10 December 1983[8] | 23 December 2015 | Sunk as target, 2020.[9] [10] [11] | |
| F22 | 1980 | 21 October 1981 | 30 December 1985 | 22 March 2018 | Awaiting disposal | ||
| F21 | 1981 | 19 March 1984 | 16 April 1988 | 28 May 2022 | To be preserved as museum.[12] |
All three ships later underwent an extensive upgrade of weapons and sensors. These include the fitment of the Israeli Barak SAM system with a new fire control system based on the EL/M-2221 STGR in place of the original Soviet SA-N-4 SAM system. The P-20 missiles were retained. The Soviet AK-725 main gun was also replaced by an Italian OTO Melara 76 mm gun.