Mumbai: Ahead of its commissioning into the Indian Navy, the first of P15-B stealth destroyers will be launched at the Mazagon docks in south Mumbai on Monday.
To be christened Indian Naval Ship (INS) Visakhapatnam on its commissioning to the Indian Navy, the 163-metre ship will be launched using the conventional end-launching method, with a launch weight of about 3,000 tonnes.
The ship, which will be propelled by four gas turbines, is designed to achieve a speed of more than 30 knots at a displacement of about 7,300 tonnes.
“The indigenously designed stealth destroyer will have state-of-the-art weapons, sensors, an advance Action Information System, in Integrated Platform Management system, sophisticated Power Distribution System and a host of other advanced features,” a spokesperson of the state-run Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) said.
The ship will be fitted with supersonic surface-to-surface missile system. The system enables the ship to engage shore-based and naval surface targets at long range, making it a lethal platform for strikes against enemy targets. “The ship’s air defence capability, designed to counter the threat of enemy aircraft and anti-ship cruise missiles, will revolve around the vertical launch and long range surface to air missile system,” the spokesperson said.
Four 30mm rapid-fire guns will provide the ship with close-in-defence capability while an MR gun will enable it to provide effective naval gunfire support. Indigenously developed twin tube torpedo launchers and rocket launchers will add punch to the ship’s anti-submarine capability.
The vessel is follow-up on P15A-Kolkota class destroyers. “Visakhapatnam is the result of the dedicated efforts of various departments of MDL ably guided by Warship Overseeing Team, Mumbai at all stages of her progress.
“Significantly, the integration, supported by the advanced Vertical Launch Missile System, the Multifunction Radar System and the hull mounted bow sonar is envisaged during the construction phase. The indigenisation content in P15-B class destroyers is a notch above her illustrious predecessors in-line with the make in India policy of the Government of India. The vessel is expected to be commissioned in the Navy in 2018.”
The P15-B stealth destroyers, designed by the Indian Navy’s in-house Design Organisation Directorate of Naval Design, bear testimony to the Indian Navy’s prowess in designing state-of-the-art naval combatants comparable to the best in the world.
The design of Project 15B destroyers marks the Navy’s firm commitment towards achieving indigenisation by using high-end technology in the field of weapons/sensors/machinery and stealth.
Mazagon Docks Limited, the country’s premier warship building yard, is engaged in producing sophisticated world-class warships and submarines. “At present, four destroyers and six submarines are under various stages of construction,” the MDL spokesperson said.
