Navy commissions INS Visakhapatnam, India’s first indigenous destroyer

India, which is strengthening its hold in the Indian Ocean, on Sunday (November 21) saw the commissioning of INS Visakhapatnam, the country’s first indigenous stealth guided-missile destroyer, into the Indian Navy at the naval dockyard in Mumbai.

The induction ceremony of the indigenously-manufactured war ship was conducted in presence of top naval commanders and Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

“Today, as INS Visakhapatnam manufactured by MDSL is successfully commissioned, there is no doubt that in the coming times, we will be shipbuilding not only for our own needs, but also for the needs of the entire world. I’m confident that INS Visakhapatnam will live up to her name and strengthen our maritime security,” Singh said at the commissioning ceremony.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh attended the commissioning of INS Visakhapatnam at Mumbai dockyard, today. pic.twitter.com/stdMPhGsBZ

— ANI (@ANI) November 21, 2021

What is INS Visakhapatnam?

INS Visakhapatnam is the first of four stealth guided-missile destroyer ships under the government’s ₹35,000 crore Project 15B.

The four ships have been named after as many Indian cities – Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Mormugao (Goa), Imphal (Manipur) and Surat (Gujarat).

Designed by the Directorate of Naval Design and built by M/s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL), the missile destroyer, according to Indian Navy, is a follow-on of the Kolkata class destroyers commissioned in the last decade.

In a statement the Indian Navy has said that the new warship will “enhance the capacity and firepower to address the threats both in the above water and underwater domains.”

Built for multifarious missions

INS Visakhapatnam is among the largest destroyers built in the country and spans a length of 164 metre and has a displacement of 7,500 tonne. According to the Navy, it is competent to undertake multifarious missions spanning the entire spectrum of maritime warfare and is well-equipped with an array of sophisticated and state-of-the-art weapons and sensors including supersonic surface-to-surface Brahmos missile and Barak-8-long-range surface to air missiles. It also has medium and short-range guns, anti-submarine rockets and advanced electronic warfare and communication suits besides anti-submarine weapons and sensors like Hull mounted Sonar Humsa NG, heavyweight torpedo tube launchers and rocket launchers.

Around 75 per cent of the ship has been built using indigenous raw materials including indigenous steel DMR 249A.

The ship can carry aboard a crew of 312, has an endurance of 4,000 nautical miles and is fit for a 42-day-long mission with extended mission time in out of area operation.

Also equipped with two choppers to extend its reach, the ship can fight under nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warfare conditions, the Navy has said.

A combination of combined gas and gas turbine (COGAC) propels the ship to reach a speed of 30 knots (55 km/hr approx.)

While the keel for INS Visakhapatnam was laid in October 2013, it was launched in 2015. INS Mormugao was launched in September 2016 and is currently put on sea trials.  It is expected to be commissioned next year.

INS Imphal was launched on April 20, 2019. The fourth ship is under block erection and it is likely to be launched next ye