Visakhapatnam class stealth-guided missile destroyer inducted into Navy

Visakhapatnam: IN its endeavour to transform the Indian Navy into a Blue Water Navy, Visakhapatnam class stealth-guided missile destroyer has been inducted into the defence forces.

Blue Water makes the nation capable of undertaking operations in a bigger maritime area than its maritime borders in the deep oceans without needing to return to its home port to refuel and restock.

Spokesperson for Navy in a tweet stated that the induction of the destroyer will not only enhance #combat readiness of #IndianNavy but will also be a major leap forward towards our quest for #AatmanirbharBharat.

In another tweet, the Navy said "Yet another testament of impetus given by Govt. of India & the Navy towards #indigenous construction programmes. #Visakhapatnam-#first of the indigenous P15B stealth-guided missile destroyers being built at #MazagonDock, #Mumbai delivered to #IndianNavy on 28 Oct21."

In a release, PIB saidY 12704 Visakhapatnam, the lead ship of Project 15B stealth guided missile destroyers is one among four ships for which contract was signed on 28 January 2011. This project is a follow-on of the Kolkata class (Project 15A) destroyers commissioned in the last decade.

Designed by Directorate of Naval Design, Indian Navy's in-house design organisation; and built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, Mumbai; the four ships are christened after major cities from all four corners of the country viz. Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal and Surat.

The keel of Visakhapatnam was laid in October 2013 and the ship was launched in April 2015. The design has largely maintained the hull form, propulsion machinery, many platform equipment and major weapons and sensors as the Kolkata class to benefit from series production.

The release stated the 163 metre long warship has a full load displacement of 7,400 tonnes and maximum speed of 30 knots. The overall indigenous content of the project is approximately 75 per cent. Apart from myriad indigenous equipment in the 'Float' and 'Move' categories, the destroyer is also installed with major indigenous weapons which include medium range surface-to-air missiles (BEL, Bangalore), BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles (BrahMos Aerospace, New Delhi). indigenous torpedo tube launchers (Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai), and anti-submarine indigenous rocket launchers (Larsen & Toubro, Mumbai).