Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday in Visakhapatnam that future wars may be shaped by Artificial Intelligence, but victory will still depend on national resolve, trained personnel and strong military capabilities. Addressing the commissioning ceremony of INS Mahendragiri, Singh stated that new technologies and conventional military platforms complemented each other, and advanced technologies could not replace conventional defence capabilities. He described INS Mahendragiri as the sixth frigate under the Project 17A Nilgiri-class stealth frigate programme and the final warship built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) under the project, calling it the “concluding jewel” of MDL’s Project 17A series. Singh recalled that INS Nilgiri was commissioned in January 2025, INS Udaygiri and INS Himgiri in August 2025, INS Taragiri in April 2026 and INS Dunagiri in June 2026, before INS Mahendragiri joined the Navy. He said INS Mahendragiri, with a full-load displacement of around 6,670 tonnes and a speed of up to 28 knots, is a multi-mission stealth frigate. Singh also said Andhra Pradesh had emerged as a major hub for defence and aerospace manufacturing.