Indian Navy commissions missile destroyer INS Mormugao

Indian Navy on Sunday commissioned Mormugao, a P15B stealth-guided missile destroyer, in presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar, Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai, Goa CM Pramod Sawant, and other dignitaries are also present in the ceremony.

Mumbai | INS Mormugao, a P15B stealth-guided missile destroyer, commissioned into the Indian Navy in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, CDS Gen Anil Chauhan, Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and other dignitaries. pic.twitter.com/JukEG1kdgl

— ANI (@ANI) December 18, 2022

Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar described the commissioning as yet another milestone in the history of indigenous warship building, particularly when the sister ship Visakhapatnam was inducted into the Indian Navy just over a year ago.

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Kumar said, “This achievement is indicative of the large strides we have taken in warship design and building capability over the last decade. The Navy has a tradition of naming ships after cities which creates an enduring umbilical link between the two.”

Indigenously designed

Mormugao P15B D67, named after the historic Goan port city Mormugao, is the second of the four ‘Visakhapatnam’ class destroyers, indigenously designed by the Indian Navy’s Warship Design Bureau and constructed by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd.

It has a plethora of sophisticated sensors, modern radar, and weapons systems such as surface-to-surface missiles and surface-to-air missiles, according to the Indian Navy.

The ship measures 163 metre in length and 17 metre in breadth with a displacement of 7,400 tonnes and can be regarded as one of the most potent warships to have been constructed in India, it said.

The ship is equipped with four powerful gas turbines and is capable of achieving speeds in excess of 30 knots.

Equipped for all warfare conditions

The Navy said the ship is equipped to fight under nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) warfare conditions and that it is fitted with a modern surveillance radar that provides target data to the gunnery weapon systems.

The ship’s anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities are provided by the indigenously developed rocket launchers, torpedo launchers and ASW helicopters.

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India has been focusing on bolstering its maritime capability with a focus on the Indian Ocean in the backdrop of concerns over China’s growing forays into the region, considered the backyard of the Indian Navy.

(With Agency inputs)